Road Trip
by BrokenNintendo
Summary: While on a road trip to Vancouver with Gerald, Phoebe and Arnold, Helga decides to torment Arnold during the trip but what happens when things heats up...could things change their normal relationship into something more? Fluff/Angst/Romance/Comedy/Drama COMPLETED!
1. Why did she have to come?

**Road Trip**

_Why does she have to come?_

The wind blew on wild cornflower hair as the car passed another truck. The radio station played old classic rock music over the din of the rolled down window. The music was soothing along with the crisp breeze but it didn't help calm down his distress. Arnold sighed again from his front passenger seat, when he felt _someone_ behind him kick the back of his seat, again. His nerves and patience were wearing thin. He laid his head on his arm and let the wind rip even wilder currents through his hair as he looked at his troubled reflection in the side-view mirror. Arnold chewed on his mint flavored gum and wished that his "fun vacation" hadn't turned out like this.

He felt a nudge from his best friend Gerald, who gave him a look that spoke many volumes. Nodding and looking back out onto the road, Gerald knew Arnold didn't like the idea of bringing Helga along for the ride. Oh sure he tolerated her back when they were younger but now they were older and she still played those stupid mind games with him. She still bullied Arnold, shoved him, and called him the same tired old names. Helga G. Pataki was the _last_ person he wanted to spend his vacation with, but of course he had no choice. Ever since Gerald and Phoebe had been dating, their happiness had become so intertwined. It seemed that Gerald was happy only if Phoebe was happy. Arnold loved Phoebe like a sister but he didn't like the fact that Phoebe decided to bring none other than his arch-nemesis on this two-week-long road trip.

The girl had been nothing but rude to both Gerald and Arnold, shoving them both as she went into the back seat. She even dictated the music they would listen to, and made some rude remarks about the trip itself. Gerald just tolerated it even though Arnold knew his friend would be the first to kick Pataki out if Phoebe acquiesced. Arnold had tried to reason with the pigtailed blonde. Reason threatened to turn into argument, and now they all were in the car trying not to say anything to offend anyone.

In the back seat, Phoebe giggled loudly, then showed Helga a magazine article which had caused her to laugh and make comments about girls who like Justin Beiber.

Gerald kept driving while listening to music. It took so much effort for Arnold not to lose it every time he felt her kick his chair, that he had no time to concentrate on any thoughts of his own, let alone relax and enjoy the countryside as it sped by.

Arnold watched through the side view mirror as Helga put on her pink iWood headphones, then bobbed her head up and down in time with the loud metal music that even he could hear over the radio, the engine, and the wind. He sighed inwardly. At least Helga was occupied for a while, aside from her kicking his seat, which was getting to be annoying. It was like being on a road trip with a child. All he needed was for her to ask "are we there yet" and the illusion would be complete.

_Kick…_

_Kick…_

Nothing.

_Kick?_

It almost reminded him of the days she threw spitballs at him. Not that she did that anymore; no one but immature boys did that in high school.

In the back seat, Helga smirked deviously, removed her headphones, and leaned towards Phoebe. "Hey Phoebs."

"Hmm?" Phoebe looked up from her magazine.

"I'm going in for the kill."

Phoebe sighed and whispered. "Helga, I don't think you should-"

_KICK!_

That kick was enough to make Arnold lose all wits. He turned and stared coldly at Helga. "Stop kicking my seat!"

Helga glared back while removing her ear buds and then crossing her arms. "Do you mind, Football Head? I'm trying to listen to my music here! And who said you could talk to me?"

"Okay don't make me turn this car around you two because I will" Gerald said feeling more like the father with two kids…or just one bratty one in the back. He tried to laugh a few times but trailed off as he realized no one else was laughing.

Arnold immediately sat back down in his seat and faced forward in annoyance and crossed arms. In the back seat, an annoyed groan escaped Helga's lips and she looked back at her MP3 player.

_Damn it, I did it again. Why can't I just be nice? He let me come along on this trip, and here I am treating him like I always do, like dirt. ...But I have to, I have a reputation to uphold and I can't let him think I'm enjoying myself. Gah, I'm a basketcase._

She turned the music up and stared at the floorboard, trying to hide her dejected face.

Gerald, ever the studious driver, took his eyes off the road for a second to look at the fuel gauge, and then smiled as he resumed his watch over the road ahead. "You girls keep tight, we're comin' to a pit stop soon. We'll have to get some gas."

H A H A H A H A H A

"Finally!" Arnold muttered to himself as Gerald parked the car beside an unoccupied gas pump. Gerald immediately began attending to the car's fuel situation, while Arnold slowly opened the passenger door, got out of his seat, and slowly stretched his aching back.

He trudged into the gas station hoping to get some kind of snack or drink. He fully intended to ignore Helga's demands that he better buy her something or else. After all, he wasn't her keeper. He was anything but.

_I am not going to be her throw doll. I am not going to be her throw doll. I am not going to be her throw doll. _He repeated inwardly over and over again as he entered the generously air conditioned gas station.

He grabbed some pumpkin seeds, a bag of chips and a bottle of yahoo soda for himself. Then his eyes set in on the piece de resistance, a fully stocked ice cream freezer! Smiling, Arnold walked to the happy looking freezer cabinet and grabbed a drumstick.

Arnold walked triumphantly towards the clerk to pay for his stuff. After giving the clerk the money, he put his pumpkin seeds in his jean pocket. He grabbed the soda and his chips in his free hand while making sure he was holding them a bit tightly with the ice cream in his other hand.

Smiling like a kid in a candy store, Arnold pushed his back against the exit and then turned around too step out into the fresh country air.

"Yoink!"

Arnold barely had time to react as a hand shot out from nowhere and grabbed the drumstick from his hand. "Hey!" He cried in protest. He felt another crack form to his normally calm exterior he always projected out through the years as he looked to his side to see Helga standing beside him, grinning from ear to ear with his drumstick in one hand, peeling back the wrapper in another.

"Got your ice cream!" Helga taunted, licking it. "You want it back?" She licked it again. "Oh, too late. It's got my germs on it. Next time you might want to be on guard. Just a word of advice, Arnoldo. You can thank me later."

Helga then walked off towards the parked car, all the while laughing while holding her stomach with her free hand, while eating the ice cream with her other. Arnold's eyes narrowed at her form as he imagined making her ears bleed.

_How old is she? She acts like we're still in 4__th__ grade. _He sighed and looked up towards the heavens, hoping for strength._ I only have two full weeks of this…_

He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry man," Gerald stood beside him as they watched Helga walk away. "I know you didn't want her to come with us"

Arnold shrugged, not wanting to say much about the sore topic but Gerald knew how he was feeling. "You're a great friend for agreeing to this. I mean you know I love Phoebe and well Helga has been friends with her as long as you and me."

"You and I." Arnold corrected, then turned towards Gerald.

Gerald rolled his eyes and shook his head "Arnold, we're not in school anymore"

A mischievous gleam appeared in Arnold eyes, but Gerald noticed he was also involuntarily looking around like a paranoid squirrel. "Just because we're not in school doesn't mean you shouldn't learn how to speak well" he joked,

"Dude-what are you doing?" Gerald asked, watching his best friends movements.

"Watching out for food snatchers"

"Arnold-your paranoid man"

Before both could do anything, a blur of pink and blonde flashed past them and they heard that same blur yell "Zoink!"

In a flash Arnold's chips had disappeared from his hand. The blond simply huffed and looked back up at Gerald. "You were saying?"

Gerald gave him a pat on the shoulder. "You know you're the greatest friend in the world for doing this for me, I love you man, no homo." He said, and then walked into the store.

H A H A H A H A H A

"Move over, Geraldo. My turn to drive."

"No Helga, you and Phoebe sit in the back."

"Nuh-uh. Switching drivers after every stop helps to make the trip easier and faster. Can't have you dozing at the wheel 'cause you're too tired. Now I won't ask you again. MOVE!"

"Helga do you even have a drivers license?" The blond boy felt his hair rise the longer he was next to her.

"Doi." Helga reached into her purse and produced her wallet, showing her license. In her picture she had her arms crossed with a scowl "I'm not stupid, Football Head. I wouldn't drive if I didn't have at least a learner's permit."

She then shoved the wallet back into her purse, turned the key, put the car in gear, and then started to drive.

"She got it three months ago." Phoebe clarified, quietly.

There was a pause, and then both boys quickly put on their seat belts, Gerald clasped his hands together as if praying.

"Hey God it's me Gerald"

"And Arnold."

"We need your help. Give us the deadly mist."

"And we-...wait, what?"

"So we can sacrifice her to the big monsters from another world!"

"...Gerald, did you watch _The Mist_ again?"

"Maybe." Gerald said, laughing. His smile faded when he turned towards a very angry Helga G Pataki who was glaring at him through the driver's mirror.

"Care to make any more hilarious Stephen King references involving a gruesome bloody death toward me? Because really; I'd love to hear them." Helga held on to the wheel with one hand while she shook her in a fist. "Go on, Geraldo, each one you make gets you a broken tooth."

Gerald sighed, lowering his tone to a whisper. "Oh sure, she can say that kinda stuff to us but we can't do it back?"

"Double standards are a foreign language to her, Gerald." Phoebe whispered in her boyfriend's ear.

"Hey! Shut it back there!"

"Yes mother." Gerald mocked with a high pitch voice while Phoebe tried to stifle a giggle.

Arnold crossed his arms and sighed while he turned his attention to the scene outside the window. "This is going to be a long trip." He whispered, but loud enough that Helga caught what he was saying. She kept her eyes on the road, but inwardly she was already berating herself.

_Great, just great, give him more reasons to want to throw you out of the car. No, no, I have to stand my ground, stick to my guns. ...Damn it, who am I kidding, I'm just a weak little girl hiding behind being so tough. No, no, I'm a strong, lean, mean, fighting machine. Being nice is for pansies. I'm a Pataki, I'm not Lila or Ooooolllga._

Her cerulean orbs had seen Arnold reaching towards the radio. Without a word, she gently slapped his hand.

"Hey!"

"Hay is for horses. I'm driving. I pick the tunes. You sit back and enjoy the ride. Chucklehead."

"But Helga you have an IWood player, you can listen to all the music you want, at least let me listen to some other genre for a while."

"Are you an idiot? Driving while listening to a music player is dangerous! So forget it." She turned up the radio really loud so that she wouldn't hear him any further, effectively ending their argument.

Covering his ears and looking through the rear-view mirror, he saw Gerald's head turned towards Phoebe's while she was against the seat. Her Arms were wrapped around Gerald's body. Arnold diverted his attention from the make-out session going on behind him, and crossed his arms, sighing again as he asked himself. _Why me?_

H A H A H A H A H A H A

It was getting very dark outside, and after another pit stop, Arnold was now driving, with Helga up front in the passenger seat. Gerald and Phoebe were still in the back, but were simply cuddling and conspiring with each other quietly.

Arnold took a moment to finally let his nerves calm. The ride was quiet now, aside from the low volume of the radio, which he thankfully had full reign of since Helga had opted to retreat to the music files on her iWood.

The quiet drive had the intended effect. All he had to do was keep the car between the lines, and everything would fall into place. Finally something was going his way.

That was, until Helga took the map off of the dashboard, unfolded it, and then let her eyes widen in realization.

"Arnold! You were supposed to turn off at the last exit!" She suddenly yelled in surprise.

Her exclamation broke Arnold out of his trance. "Damnit" the blonde boy cursed. He studied the narrow road. "We'll, I'll just have to make a U-"

But before he could finish his sentence, he heard a muffled sound like an explosion. A few seconds later the steering wheel started shaking.

_It feels like one wheel is…oh no! _

A slight surge of adrenaline afforded him enough concentration that Arnold realized what he had to do. As he pulled over the car to the side Helga slammed the map down on her lap as her wide eyes took in the situation

Once they were stopped, Arnold turned on the emergency blinkers and bailed out of the car. He didn't have to search for the wheel too long, as it was right beside him. He swore under his breath and shredded remnants of the tire for good measure.

"What happened, man?" Gerald wanted to know.

"A blowout." Arnold groaned. He kneeled down closer to the tire and Gerald joined him. He sighed. "Looks like it didn't damage the rim, thank god."

Helga had walked up beside Arnold and stood there with her hands on her hips. "Fantastic! We're stick in the middle of nowhere on the road, and we have a blowout! Nice going, hair boy!"

Arnold stood up and confronted Helga. "It's not my fault! Things like this happen."

"You were supposed to check the tires before we left, dumbass! It's part of a driving protocol!"

"Uh, guys..." Gerald said.

"And furthermore, this is an older car! It's more susceptible to problems sometimes! Were you been listening when you were getting your learner's permit?" Helga yelled, ignoring Gerald.

"Your one to talk Helga, you just got your license and you don't even have your own car, at least I have a car and have been driving for about a year now!"

"Oh sure, turn this on me now!"

"Guys..."

"PLEASE tell me you have a spare tire in the trunk somewhere! Now we have to go to get a new tire altogether and therefore wasting our time!"

"Wasting our time? Helga all you've done this whole ride out here is be rude to us when we're the ones who were so nice to you to let you come and instead of being grateful you've done NOTHING but annoy everyone here including me. I haven't done anything to you and yet you still act like I'm the one who did you wrong in life."

Everyone fell silent. Gerald's jaw dropped, and Phoebe raised her hands to her mouth to stifle a gasp. Helga's eyes widened and her face fell.

A car passed by going the opposite direction, and then Helga found the courage to speak. "...I'm sorry, Arnold."

"Whatever you say Helga" Arnold said darkly. He walked around the car to the passenger seat, then sat down while putting on his own iWood Shuffle. He hoped some jazz music could calm him down as he looked away from everyone, especially Helga, who still held her head down.

Gerald finally spoke. "I don't have a spare tire so we have to call someone but I think I saw a Hotel back there"

Phoebe nodded and pulled out her mobile phone. "I'll call and try to get a room for us there while you call for a tow truck"

"Okay babe." Gerald's voice trailed off as he pulled his own cell phone and dialed.

Phoebe touched Helga's shoulder.

"Sorry, Pheebs." Helga murmured, sighing. "I just ruined this whole thing." _And now Arnold hates me... Why, why do I have to be such a bitch to him? Is my pride THAT more important? ...Apparently it is. Stupid Pataki pride._

Phoebe leaned towards Helga and whispered sternly. "I never said anything but you really need to let go whatever is holding you back from being friends with Arnold, he has always been there for you but even though right now may seem a bit troubled-Hello?" The voice on the other end of her phone interrupted her as she answered the woman who just picked up the call on the other end. "Yes I would like to have two rooms, please."

Helga sighed and looked up at the stars while Gerald and Phoebe carried on phone conversations, and she could see Arnold out of the corner of her eye, stewing in the passenger seat with his headphones on.

Once Phoebe had finished her phone call she turn back to Helga. "What was I saying? Oh yes now I remember, things may seem bad now but let Arnold cool off and tomorrow try to at least to be his friend."

"Yeah right Phoebes, like I want him to be my friend"

"Which one do you think you should lose? A friendship with Arnold who…" Phoebe looked around and then lowered her voice as she leaned in to Helga's ear. "Could become the flavor ice cream you'd been looking for…or your pride, it's up to you Helga."

Helga looked back toward Phoebe, and gave a soft sigh. _"Arnold who...could become the flavor of ice cream you'd been looking for...or your pride, it's up to you Helga."_ Her words played back in her mind, making her bite her lip and seriously consider what she could be doing.

Gerald turned towards the girls as he closed his phone with one hand and put it in his pocket. "A Tow truck is coming to get the car, I think it would be best if you all walk to the hotel and-"

"I'm staying Gerald, I don't want to leave you." Phoebe said as she touched his cheek and smiled softly. Phoebe gave her boyfriend a quick kiss.

Gerald pulling the small girl close to him and held her there. "Okay Phoebe"

"We'll wait here too" Helga announced.

The only one who didn't answer was Arnold. He was still listening to his iWood player. Gerald reached inside of the car to touch Arnold's shoulder

"Huh?" Arnold asked, taking off his headphones

"We're going to wait here for the tow truck, then go to the hotel. That cool man?"

"Yeah"

"All right everyone." Phoebe then said. "The Hotel has two rooms we can have. Helga and I will take one room. Gerald, you and Arnold can have the other."

Helga mutely nodded, as did Arnold.

Gerald blushed behind Phoebe, and then put his arms around her, an action that caused Phoebe to blush profusely. "Actually guys...mind if I share a room with Phoebe?"

**Review- Review- Review- Review- Review- Review- Review- Review**

**Christopher S**** and ****pyrexshards**** gave us the idea for Gerald's line "Don't make me pull this car over" XD so Thanks guys! ^_~**

**Cover Art for this story is .com/art/Road-Trip-Story-CoverArt-178662100**

_**Special thanks for Pyrexshards for being our Beta for this entire story, we bow to you and give you a virtual cookie (any flavor you want and any size)**_


	2. I have to WHAT?

**Editors Note: Hey everyone! This is Pyrex Shards. Just wanted to introduce myself and say I'll be your director for this little adventure. BrokenRose and NintendoGal both have given me lots of freedom in editing this little gem for them. I must say that while it is taking some time because I want to get it right, this is also lots of fun. When I first read the draft, I fell in love with this story, so much so that I wanted to give it the star treatment and really bring out the nuances that they endowed this story with. Many thanks to them for letting me be a part of this. So, with that in mind, on to chapter two! :)**

**Road Trip**

I have to WHAT?

"_Great." _Arnold thought to himself as he a snuggled up once more under the sheets, only getting a few moments of comfort from the extra warmth, only to have the sheet yanked from under his hands again. He sighed.

The two of them, Helga and Arnold, were laying under the sheets of the only bed in the hotel room, a double bed, since it was cheaper.

This situation had started when Gerald requested to be roomed with Phoebe. An understandable wish. It was also a huge no-no. The parents involved in OK'ing this trip had forbid it, very expressly. Arnold and Helga had been so thrown off by this that they had spent five minutes in vain trying to convince the pair otherwise, but Gerald wouldn't budge. It wasn't that their parents had said no, but it was because of who Arnold and Helga would end up with.

To their dismay, Phoebe, the intellectual and uncorrupted Phoebe Heyerdahl, wasn't exactly against the idea either. She had even whispered to Helga, loud enough for Arnold to hear in her excitement, that it was her chance to try and 'move things in the right direction' if one caught her meaning, and Arnold did.

So now Arnold was forced to sacrifice his sanity once more so that Gerald and Phoebe could have their time alone on this trip, whatever that would entail. Almost immediately after Arnold and Helga hit the room, the fiery blonde saw the bed, huffed, swore to herself, and then phoned room service for a few extra pillows.

Once the pillows arrived, Arnold watched as Helga used what meagre space they had to construct a barrier of pillows under the sheets from the foot of the bed to the headboard. Then she pointed at the pillow barrier while saying rather sternly. "Do NOT cross the pillows, football head. If you cross, your balls are GONE."

_Like I would._ Arnold sighed, and rolled over to his side away from Helga, only to have more sheets pulled over the pillow barrier. He heard Helga mutter something unfeminine under her breath. He knew this whole trip was an awful idea, and that there could never be a peace with Helga, not once!

Across the hills and valleys of the pillows between them, like the yellow line intersecting an apartment in a campy sitcom, Helga rolled onto her side away from Arnold and swore to herself. _This is going horribly, I get to share a room, a BED, with my beloved, and here I am being a bitch! Yeesh._ "...Um, goodnight, Arnold. See ya in the morning." _Okay, that wasn't so bad...now don't say ANYTHING else._

"Helga..." she heard a loud sigh. "...goodnight."

It wasn't long before the two finally fell asleep, despite the tension and tight bed sheets between them.

H A

All throughout the night, Arnold would wake up, thinking that he heard someone, a girl, say something to him. At first he thought it was Helga, and he had lifted his head to look at her. Every time Helga was asleep and snoring lightly, but every time she'd be in a different position.

He smiled a little of the thought of Helga being a chaotic sleeper. It made sense actually. Arnold could never get any rest when Helga was around, not even while trying to sleep. Every time he shut his eyes and sleep overtook, he'd hear a silky voice say something to him, address him by name, and every time she would begin to say something poetic, significant, he'd wake up.

_This is getting ridiculous._ Arnold tossed in bed once more, and sighed in frustration. He liked what he was dreaming. He wanted to dream so he could hear that girl whisper poetry to him again. Something about it spoke to him on a deep level, and he just wanted to hear her speak.

He frowned. Perhaps this wasn't Helga's fault. Arnold lifted his head again, and this time propped it up on his hand so he could look over the pillows at Helga.

He could make out her features in the dim light. This time she was facing him. Her hair was a chaotic mess from tossing and turning. It practically covered her pillow, and some strands even sprayed over the pillows between them. It cascaded over her bare shoulder, exposed from underneath her night-shirt by her constant tossing and turning. Some of the ambient light from outside reflected off of her skin in a milky sheen.

An ear poked out from underneath her hair, and he could only see one eye lid. In fact if it weren't for her hair being out of her pigtails, from her shower the night before, he never would have known Helga had such long hair.

In fact, he had to admit, her long blonde hair was quite beautiful. An amazing counterpoint to the Helga he knew as his personal bully and arch nemesis.

What he saw in his mind threatened to take his breath away that very moment. Under the moonlight spilling from around the window blinds, Helga looked like a beautiful elf. He realized that Helga's nose wasn't so pronounced anymore. It was still uniquely Helga, but she had grown into it, and it looked pretty against her smooth cheeks.

Her lips were pouting. Perhaps a bad dream or some concern she had. Helga was Human after all. Arnold smirked. But at the same time, he knew there had to be girls out there who would kill to have Helga's lips.

Without thinking too much, Arnold reached his other hand over the pillows, and gently traced his index finger over the side of her face and through her hair, pulling it up over her ear and calming some of the chaos around her face. He furrowed his brows. Her hair felt so warm and soft, from the shower more than likely.

This was the same Helga that had kissed him several times in his youth, with the touch of those same lips that at one time he found gross. Now? He wasn't so sure. Even her slight overbite just looked unbelievably cute.

Helga stirred and Arnold felt the surge of adrenaline. His breath caught as he watched Helga's lips quirk and move slightly. He imagined she was saying something in her dream, he hoped. Arnold quickly moved is hand away and watched with baited breath. He'd be in for it if Helga woke up and he was staring at her. This flower in the moonlight would become a venus flytrap in no-time at all.

To his relief, Helga simply turned around, muttered something about tapioca pudding, and then started snoring again after subconsciously snuggling back into her unfair share of the sheets.

Arnold let himself fall on his back to lie staring at the ceiling. _What am I doing?_ He thought to himself, but couldn't really bring himself to answer that question as sleep once again overtook him and his eyes fluttered closed.

H A

It was the wee hours of the morning, with the sunlight peeking in around the blinds. The first thing Arnold sensed was the sound of early morning truckers driving by on the highway outside. The rest of his senses protested against the loudness in his ears.

The next thing to awaken groggily was his sense of touch. Immediately it signalled throughout his nerves that he was very comfortable. It also suggested that he should fall back to sleep, but the light peeking through his eyelids objected to that.

And thusly Arnold was awake.

His eyelids fluttered open to the sight of the pale morning sun reflecting on the spackled ceiling of the hotel room. He went to lift his head and look around, and then realized something was amiss. There was a weight, a warmth, to his right, pressing into him.

At first he didn't really think anything of the curious warmth. It felt too good to be dangerous or out of place. It was like the pillow barrier or something. Helga must have moved closer overnight and pushed the pillows into him. Arnold lifted his left hand up to his eyes and rubbed the sleep out, then after that he looked down to his right, only to realize in utter horror that the thing pressing into him wasn't the pillows that stretched to the foot of the bed...

No...

It was Helga...

What do you do when your sworn enemy, the thorn in your side, who also happens to be a girl, is cuddled up next to you in a hotel double-bed?

Arnold surveyed the situation as best he could. Somehow, since he had last fallen asleep, Helga had managed to squirm her way underneath the pillows that were now sitting on top of her. She had a peaceful, serene smile on her face, as she snuggled closer to him in her sleep. Her head was no longer on a pillow; instead it was resting on Arnold's shoulder blade with her forehead pressing into his cheek.

The boy groaned inwardly. He was sure he was going to hear it once Helga woke up and realized she was practically spooning him. In a bout of panic, Arnold tried to wiggle towards the edge of the bed, but he found to his dismay that he couldn't pull away from her. Whenever he tried, Helga muttered incoherent but very protesting words, then snuggled up closer. Her hands latched on to his arm and his waist.

_How in the world do I get in these predicaments? _

Arnold took deep breathes and tried to relax his body for a little while, perhaps this wouldn't be too bad. It wasn't as if he had crossed the demilitarized zone himself. No. Helga had burrowed under it, and that wasn't in the armistice. He tilted his head at an angle and managed to make out the red digits of the clock radio sitting on the nightstand. It was seven in the morning. Arnold simply admitted defeat to himself, and looked back up at the ceiling as dead silence enveloped the room, only broken by the occasional semi-truck on the road outside.

Helga shifted suddenly, and he heard her wine under her breath, more incoherent babble. By god she was fidgety!

Arnold glanced down once again to stare at the blonde girl…no…woman, and his eyes focused on her ear as it protruded from her flowing hair. Over the years they played sports against each other, and had gotten into some really stupid fights, but Arnold had never gotten the chance to see Helga this close and personal.

He could feel long eyelashes and a smooth cheek against his shoulder. Her G shaped nose breathed in and out, letting out light snores that tickled his skin. Her angry unibrow, her trademark, was relaxed instead of furrowed in anger.

Arnold could even feel her hair against his cheek, and remembered lightly touching it the night before and revelling in how soft it was. He breathed in slowly and the fragrance of her hair invaded his nose.

It smelled... Very pleasant. Very clean. Very feminine.

_What am I doing? This is Helga for goodness sakes!_

"Mmm...Arnold..." Helga murmured softly in her sleep, speaking his name with such gentle sweetness. "Arnold..."

His heart began to race and he found himself unable to swallow. The only thing he could do, was to remain frozen in place as the girl in question began to snuggle closer to him.

"You smell …like..."

The girl quieted as if she was deep in thought in the midst of her dream. "Pastrami on rye….mmm Pastrami..." She elicited a soft moan and he just knew she'd probably start to drool."

At the thought, Arnold was unable to hold his laugher in and he chuckled a bit. _Wow what kind of dream is she having?_ Then he watched in horror as he felt Helga stir, and then her eyes fluttered open.

At first nothing happened as Helga regained her senses. Then, as she obviously realized what position she was in, slowly untangled herself from Arnold's arm. She sat up and the pillows on her back fell off to collect behind her.

Arnold, finally free from Helga's grasp, pushed himself up to sit while Helga continued to stare at the wall beside the bed.

Untold minutes passed as the two mentally processed what had just happened. Arnold at least didn't have to get defensive. For Helga seemed more shocked than anything, and he could almost make out the tell tale signs of a blush. No doubt about it. Helga was human after all.

Then Helga looked at Arnold as if she had just realized he was there. "Um...morning..." She started quickly, then moved to get out of the bed as she rambled on. "...I'm...gonna go shower...and change...and stuff." She then quickly skipped to her duffel bag, grabbed her clothes and toiletry bag and hurried into the bathroom, shutting the door.

Arnold sighed and let his head fall back on the bed. He was partially relieved that Helga hadn't acted like he thought she would. He also realized Helga still had a lot of mystery to her that he did not know, and she was just as complicated as any other girl he knew. And so he vocalized it with a simple word. "Women…"

H A

With silent agreement not to discuss the awkward situation they woke up in, Arnold silently packed his bags after he took a well sought after shower. Once they were both packed, the two exited the room and handed their key cards to the front desk. Both walked silently to load the car while waiting for Gerald and Phoebe.

It was now eight thirty in the morning, and the group still had a couple of hours before check-out time. It was only a quarter hour later when Gerald emerged from his and Phoebe's shared room, with travel bags in tow, and Phoebe following closely behind and shielding her eyes from the blinding morning sun.

"Good morning!" Gerald said cheerfully. "Glad you guys are still in one piece!"

"Save it, Geraldo. Turn your key in and let's get back on the road." Helga said harshly, her hands upon her hips.

Phoebe blushed upon seeing them, although it didn't help matters much as her happy go lucky boyfriend walked off whistling.

"Someone apparently got laid." Helga muttered.

Arnold blushed. Inwardly he had been happy for his friend but embarrassed for Phoebe. He looked at Phoebe, and wondered however, if embarrassment would be the operative word. Phoebe had what could only be described as a soft afterglow...

...That, and she had her hair down. It seemed like all Phoebe needed now was a cigarette and the image would be complete in his own mind.

"Um...well, are you two ready to go?" Phoebe asked, feeling the need to change the subject lest more awkward conversation ensue.

"Yep, all ready, Phoebs. You know where we're headed?" Helga popped some gum into her mouth and blew a bubble.

"I believe now we're going to Henderson Springs, which is a few hours away from here. It's a small town but it's very tourist friendly; we'll have a lot to do there." Phoebe explained.

"Um Helga?" Arnold asked, reaching into his jean pockets, then he checked his jacket pockets while narrowing his eyes at the blonde girl.

"What, geek bait?"

"Did you steal my gum?"

H A

"I'M ON THE HIGHWAY TO HELL! ...HIGHWAY TO HELL! I'M ON THE HIGHWAY TO HELL! HIGHWAY TO HELL! MMMMMM! DON'T STOP ME!"

Now on the road, with Phoebe driving, Gerald sat in the front beside her in the passenger seat, with Arnold and Helga in the back. They were all singing along at the top of their lungs to AC/DC's song _Highway To Hell_ as it blared tinny through the car radio. Even Phoebe sung along while tapping her fingers against the steering wheel. Surprisingly, they were all having a blast as they sang along to songs on the radio or on CD's, and took in the scenery around them.

Finally, it looked as if the vacation was officially on.

When_ Bohemian Rhapsody_ by Queen started to play everyone in the car bobbed their heads and rocked out to the words as they mouthed them as loudly as possible in reverence to queen. Helga rocked out with an air guitar, Arnold kept the pace with an epic air drum set, using the headrest in front of him as a cymbal, and Gerald held a cigarette lighter he found in the glove compartment.

"SO YOU THINK YOU CAN STOP ME AND SPIT IN MY EYE? SO YOU THINK YOU CAN LOVE ME AND LEAVE ME TO DIE? OHHHH BABY! CAN'T DO THIS TO ME BABY! JUST GOTTA GET OUT! JUST GOTTA GET RIGHT OUT OF HERE!" They all sang along.

When the song ended they all fell into polite, excited chatter. The mood had changed so much that for a while Helga and Arnold talked without a hint of anger.

"Man, you're not a bad a singer, Football Head." Helga laughed, sipping her water bottle. "That was pretty fun."

"Yeah it was, I always liked that song even though Grandpa hated me listening to it since he's not into this type of music."

"Oh boo, who cares what anyone else says? This song is BOSS! Way boss! Hey, I noticed you bought an old record of that classic rock group you like so much. That one time I...happened to be passing by the record store. Yeah! So is it good? Like their old stuff? I told you their old stuff is awesome!"

"Yeah actually I do and thanks, I wouldn't have gotten it if you didn't talk about it so much." _Wow…we're actually talking…like humans!_

"Well good! Glad it helped. Okay, now what's your favourite song on the album? My favourite to be honest is, hands down, _Bring Me To Paradise_, that song is just so EPIC! A great beat, original lyrics, and an awesome guitar riff you just don't see anymore!"

"I like the old rock but nothing can beat Jazz."

"Then you must listen to Dino Spumoni on a daily basis."

"Not really, but hand to God."

"So you're religious?"

"No, not really."

Gerald chuckled from the passenger seat and then whispered to Phoebe. "Who knew they could actually get along?"

Phoebe giggled. "The circumstances are in their favour, I suppose."

H A

Tiredly, Arnold looked around the car. This lasted for a few moments until his eyes fixated on something he could use. "I spy with my little eye…something green"

Lazily, without looking, Helga yawned and then answered "The tree?"

"Yeah."

"Kay. I spy...something...blue."

"The sky?"

"Nope."

"...Your shirt?"

"Nope."

"...Phoebe's skirt?"

"Uh-uh."

"My shoes?"

"Getting warmer."

"...My hat?"

"Bingo."

"Hey guys, look over there!" Gerald pointed. They had been traveling all day while switching drivers at each rest stop. It was getting dark, and they soon pulled into Henderson Springs. The place Gerald pointed to had been a hotel but down from it was a club. "I say we all go there. I haven't been to a club in a while right babe, I know you miss going."

Phobe wasn't a party animal but she did enjoy dancing, especially with Gerald. She giggled in response and nodded.

"A club, eh?" Helga gave a smirk. "Sounds like something we could try out on this wacky vacay."

"I guess we can go."

_Maybe I'll meet someone special, couldn't hurt trying. It'll been a long time since I last dated. _

"All right! Then we are off to get our groove on!"

"Gerald!"

H A

It was a little later that the quartet arrived at their hotel. This time Arnold found to his relief that Gerald was willing to let the girls share a room.

"Guess it'd be better so the girls could get ready together, make it easier." Gerald shrugged. "You ready for this, man?"

Arnold and Gerald were in their room, both changing into clothing suited for the club. Gerald wore his red Bulls jersey and a pair of black jeans.

"Yeah I guess" Arnold said half-heartedly, his wet hair plastered down from a brief shower.

Arnold walked back into the bathroom and finished drying his hair with his towel. Since they were going to the club he wanted to wear some of his more impressive clothing. He hardly wore dress clothing unless it was for something big like a party. But tonight, on a whim, and a hunch that maybe tonight was the night for something positive in his life, he decided to dress up.

Arnold put on black dress pants and a silk blue collar shirt, of which he decided to leave the two top buttons undone. Shaking his head to make his wild cornflower hair stick out like it normally did; he slipped on his black shoes, and then brushed his teeth

After checking himself in the mirror one last time to make sure nothing was out of place, Arnold winked at his own reflection with a playful smile and headed out of the bathroom.

"Whoa man, what's with the outfit?" Gerald exclaimed as he looked at Arnold's change in dress.

Arnold reached into his bag and pulled out the silver watch his grandpa gave him for his birthday. He didn't look up from the watch he was fitting around his wrist as he asked. "You know I haven't dated right?"

"Yeah I know...ooh I got ya man, you're looking all fine for the girls."

"Well I want to at least meet someone, I have to move on."

Gerald shook his head "Yeah, I still can't believe you dated Silver Bullet"

Arnold stopped adjusting the watch then looked up at Gerald. He arched an eyebrow at his friend. "Her name is Amy Silver, why does everyone calls her Silver Bullet?"

"That's because Helga called her that at the time you both were dating."

"Don't remind me." Arnold muttered.

"She was awfully jealous for some reason. That's what Phoebe told me."

"Helga? Jealous?" Arnold laughed and easily dismissed Gerald's theory. "No way."

"Whatever you say, Arnold." Gerald shrugged as the two finished up and then headed for the door.

H A

"You ready yet, Pheebs?"

"Almost! Just getting the last of my makeup on!" Came Phoebe's sing-song voice from the bathroom.

"All righty." Helga looked at herself once more in the hotel room's mirror. She was dressed in a black and pink, tight-fitted t-shirt that almost looked like it was spray-painted on. It showed a modest yet tantalizing amount of cleavage. She had her pink bow tied on around her neck as a choker, and a bright pink belt around her waist. Her long blonde hair was down in a light wave, and she had even plucked her eyebrow. She smiled at the thought of something she swore she would never do, as if she were rebelling against her own nature. She did wonder every few minutes why the hell was she even considering this. She even had some makeup on. Her lips were highlighted with bright pink cotton candy lipstick, her eyes sported pink eye shadow, and her cheeks had a touch of blush. Even to her, she looked pretty good.

_Well I do want to look sexy for him tonight... Arnold..._ Helga thought to herself as she twirled around and then stood with a slight sideways thrust of her hips. _Eat your heart out. _She heard a gasp from the direction of the bathroom then looked to see Phoebe standing there looking at her in shock.

"H-Helga? Oh my!"

"You act like you seen a ghost Phoebes." Helga smiled at her dear friend's reaction.

Phoebe said meekly, "you look so beautiful. And your...eyebrows..." putting her hand to cover her mouth "You shaved your unibrow?"

"And Plucked them so yeah what of it? It's just hair, it'll grow back"

"I'm certain it will. I'm just shocked that you actually did it."

"Yeah well I did" Helga lifted her eyebrows for emphasis.

"Does this mean you want to spend some time with Arnold?"

"Might as well"

"Well Helga, I'm glad" Phoebe walked back into the bathroom before coming out and giving Helga a small bottle"

"What's this?"

"See if you like it"

Lifting the bottle to her nose, Helga was quite surprised at the scent. Normally she hated perfumes since they were too fruity or flowery...if that's even a word for it.

This however didn't smell all that bad, actually it smelled great.

"It's good."

"Spray it on, you can have it"

"Really?" Helga asked in disbelief as she spritzed a wrist and held it up to her nose to smell more of the pleasant fragrance.

"I have enough bottles at home, so just keep it since it's more of your scent then mine"

"Well...thanks"

Phoebe winked and put on her jewellery while Helga sprayed her wrists and her neck while blushing as she imagined all the possible ways Arnold could react to her newfound scent.

H A

"Okay ladies, you ready to get your groove on and-HOT DAMN!" Gerald's jaw dropped upon seeing the girls as they all stepped out of their respective rooms.

While his gaze was mostly transfixed on Phoebe for obvious reasons, he couldn't help but take a glance at Helga. Phoebe was in a blue dress with short sleeves and matching sandals. Her Asian black hair was up in a bun held by a couple of chopsticks. She wore light lipstick, light blue eye shadow that contrasted with her pretty eyes that peaked out from behind her glasses, along with some blush on her cheeks . She had a Japanese charm necklace around her neck, silver spangle bracelets around her wrists, and a ring on her right middle finger.

Helga slowly took a peek at Arnold who was busy staring at her in shock. She could feel her insides heat up and freeze all at once as she drank in his image.

_He's, so, hot_. _Formal, yet casual, but_ _so_ _hot_. She couldn't take her eyes off him. She wanted to just let loose, grab him, take him into her and Phoebe's room and ravish him all night.

Upon drinking in the girl's new looks, Arnold's eyes immediately were drawn to Helga, as if she were the only being in the hallway other than him

_Gosh...I never knew Helga was...I...I really love her hair down. _

His eyes were unable to look away from her. That hair. That beautiful hair. And her nose. And those ears just slightly peeking out. And those blue eyes. _Now you'd never really think she'd have a bad attitude. _Arnold thought to himself as he suddenly found his brain willing to forgive Helga for all her past transgressions.

"You like what you see?" Helga asked teasingly, a smirk set upon her features. She placed her hands on her hips. "You're practically drooling, Football Head. Might want to close your mouth, you don't want a bug to fly into it."

Emerald eyes widened and a blush spread out through Arnold's heated cheeks "Ah, no um…er um…you look nice Helga, it's nice to see your hair down. You should wear it like that more often."

Gerald palmed his face, Phoebe giggled. Helga tried to hide her growing blush, but with no avail as she realized she was actually seducing Arnold.

"...Um...thanks, I guess." She said. "You look all right yourself, Arnold."

Inside, Arnold really was a nervous wreck. _Why do I feel so nervous? My heart is pounding…maybe I'm just afraid she might turn on me and threaten to pound me for looking at her more…she…reminds me…or something…I wonder why?_

"Well now that we got all that out of the way..." Gerald brought his arm around Phoebe's waist, causing the girl to blush. "Shall we go then?"

"Lead the way, Tall Hair Boy." Helga said crisply, tossing some of her hair back over her shoulder. For a fleeting moment, the breeze blew on a few strands, which in turn hid the left side of her face, but as quick as it came, it was gone as she pushed her hair back again.

Gerald and Phoebe were in front of her walking and laughing as they whispered conspiratorial things to each other. The wind picked up again, and Helga's hair blew in her face. It pulled her hair back from her face but missed one lone lock of hair. For Helga, everything went into slow motion as soon as she felt Arnold's fingers touch that strand of hair. Her pink painted lips opened with an 'o' shape once she felt his touch. Her insides set aflame as Arnold gently moved the stray hair over her ear, and his warm fingers grazed the tip.

_Oh Arnold my love...your sweet, tender and warm touch fills my heart with such joy when you so caringly tuck my hair away from my face..._ Helga's eyes closed unwittingly. Her lips parted slightly as she let herself enjoy the heat of his touch, fed from the life giving warmth of his heart. Once Arnold broke that precious contact with her ear, she felt deflated, but tried not to show it.

"There Helga" he said softly and then walked ahead of her, feeling quite embarrassed with his reaction just then. He made sure to keep an eye on Helga as she followed closely behind the group. Arnold always felt a very light yet profound streak of protectiveness around any girl he was with. In his heart, he felt elated that for just this night, Helga was no exception. He stopped and waited for her to walk by him, as she did he fell into place beside her and continued walking.

"Have you ever been to a club before?"

"Once or twice, when Phoebs dragged me along to try to pick up guys." Helga shrugged noncommittally. "It's fun, I guess. Dancing around to the music is pretty fun."

"Have you ever met anyone?"

"Not really. They were all douche bags just trying to get into my pants. Of course I showed them that Helga G. Pataki is not meant to be played with like that, nor an easy lay."

Arnold felt his face turn red, the only thing that wasn't red was his blonde hair.

"Oh I see."

"How about you? Ever been to a club tomato head?"

"I use to go many times with Sid whenever he felt like picking up girls, I went once with Amy but she hated the fact that…um…well she didn't like some things"

"As in?"

"Well she hated the fact that she couldn't dance very well."

"Jeez, didn't know Silver Bullet had self-esteem issues." Helga stated sarcastically.

Arnold shook his head in response then looked at Helga. "Why do you still call her that?"

"Because no one else does."

Rolling his eyes, he slid his hands in his pants pockets. "That explains it."

"Damn right it does."

"Can you dance?"

"Yeah, fairly. I took ballet for a while when I was six."

"Your right, I remember the pict-um well I remember that little fact." Arnold winced as he managed to catch himself.

Helga stopped, grabbed his arm, and spun him around to face her. "Wait right there bucko, what do you mean pictures?"

"What are you talking about?" Arnold laughed nervously in a half-assed attempt to feign ignorance.

"Oh don't play innocent."

"Okay so I'm not one for lying and-"

"You lying? Please Arnold, you'd get all sweaty and cry in less than five seconds"

"Thanks Helga" he said flatly.

"Anytime, Football Head."

"Hey you guys!" Gerald hollered from ahead of the duo. "We're here! So let's go!" He indicated to the front of the club, which was called _Dancing Springs_.

H A

There was a faint smell of sweat in the air as young couples danceed on the chaotic floor of _Dancing Springs_, The four friends had just stepped inside and they could immediately smell the sweat along with alcohol. There were lights flashing on and off in all sorts of colors. Loud music filled their ear drums. Arnold turned to see where Helga was, not wanting to lose sight of her in the club.

"Hey Pataki, do you want a drink?" he asked playfully, using her surname like he did occasionally over their past years as K-12 students and classmates.

"Get me a soda, hot shot." Helga winked at him. "And make it snappy"

After brief comic relief at the look of shock on the bartender's face when he asked for a couple of very non-alcoholic sodas, Arnold returned with the soda's, sans change, which he had very amusedly told the shocked Bar Tender to keep.

He zeroed in on Helga, who was watching Gerald and Phoebe dancing together nearby. Arnold approached, gave Helga her soda and followed her gaze to their respective best friends while they sipped on their drinks.

"Phoebs doesn't always get much into it, unless Geraldo's around." Helga commented, then said in a exasperated tone. "Now look at 'em, it's like they've been clubbing their whole lives."

Time went by while Arnold looked on and softly laughed at Helga's running commentary about the people around them. Eventually though, he grew tired of it and started looking around the room, until his eyes fell upon something that seemed inviting enough. There, standing by the DJ, with burgundy hair falling down to the middle of her back, was a woman who had been dancing alone. From the distance he could discern lush pink lips and the blue of her eyes. Arnold felt like he wanted to go talk to her, and ask for a dance, but as he moved he noticed Helga.

"I'm going to go and find someone to dance with. Will you be okay by yourself?"

"I'm not nine anymore, I can handle myself." Helga replied rebelliously, as if a child reprimanding her parents. Then she followed Arnold's eyes and smirked. "Good luck with that. She's a real bimbo type."

Arnold stared at her dumbfounded for a moment. He swore he could catch a look of hurt in Helga's eyes, as if somehow she had just been rejected. But it was only short lived. She chugged down her soda, slammed it lightly onto a nearby table, and then walked off, while Arnold looked on, his mouth open slightly in astonishment.

Her looks being tuned for the evening, it didn't take long for Helga to find someone. He was tall, with slick black hair, hazel eyes, and dressed like something out of a Keanu Reeves movie.

"Hey, gorgeous. You up to dancing?"

Helga stopped for a second, sized up the man before her, then smiled deviously as she said "Bring it on."

As the two strangers started dancing, Helga let herself get lost, at least outwardly, in the thumping techno music that the DJ seemed to have affinity for.

Helga was once again proving how adept she was at false fronts. Inside, she was hanging her head low, and standing in a corner like a wallflower. _I can't keep doing this forever…chasing a guy who doesn't really want to be with me. I should just…move on._

"My name is Kyle, what's your name sexy?" Kyle eyed her body up and down, interrupting her thoughts. His eyes now focused on the cleavage peering out from her neckline.

Helga noticed his eyes and it stoked her already hot temper. _Hey! My girls belong to Arnold! You jackass._ She swore inwardly, and then tapped Kyle's chin painfully to make him look up. "Cut the picking up crap and maybe I'll let you dance with me a bit longer, bucko."

"Ah yeah, feisty. That's fucking hot."

Helga sighed as she continued to dance. That wasn't the reaction she wanted.

_What am I getting myself into? _

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	3. Passionate Dancing

**Road Trip**

**Passionate Dancing**

"It's the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance. It is the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance. It is the one who won't be taken who cannot seem to give. And the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live." - Bette Midler

Arnold could feel warm sweat on his neck as he moved along to the rhythm of the techno music and the strobe lights. In front of him, dancing in time with him was the burgundy haired woman. Occasionally they touched as he twirled her and pulled her back to him. He smiled. Helga was wrong. This lady was no 'bimbo,' as his enemy and friend had so bluntly stated.

When he first walked up to her with a warm smile, intent on making conversation with her, he could see no agenda in her eyes when she made eye contact. Her name was Anya. No last name, fair enough. Her voice was peppered with a thin Russian accent. The exotic syllables in her words hung in his mind. He had to admit, she had a cute yet exotic charm that made her a joy to stand next to.

And of all places to find a pretty girl who once lived in Russia…

He asked Anya to dance, she obliged, and they had been dancing for what seemed like the good part of an hour. Arnold had found that Anya possessed just as much energy as he did for dancing like this, and he couldn't stop. He didn't want to stop. He was having so much fun.

Occasionally Arnold scanned the crowed to spot his friends and assure himself that they were okay. Such was Arnold's nature to protect his friends even if they were old enough to fend for themselves. That didn't stop him from looking anyway, and he was having trouble finding Helga, of all people. He looked again, unable to comprehend what his gut was telling him.

"What are you looking for?" the woman in his arms asked softly, breaking him out of his trance.

"Oh, I'm just looking for my friends."

"Aww you're so caring" she cooed at the tall handsome blonde man holding her. They continued to dance and Arnold looked down once again at his dance partner. It was too bad he wasn't from around here. Now that he thought about it, his dance partner probably was just passing through this town like his own gang. Too bad their paths wouldn't cross again after this night. He'd ask Anya out in a heartbeat. At least, perhaps, they could exchange phone numbers or something.

All thoughts took a sharp right turn whenever Arnold caught unmistakable blonde hair in his peripheral vision. He turned his head and he smiled slightly. He had finally spotted Helga. She was dancing with some unknown guy a good several yards away from Anya and himself. The dark haired man dipped Helga, and as she leaned back he caught the happy expression on her face.

_Helga?_

The stranger had his hands on her hips as she swayed them side to side with the beat. There was man-killing precision to her long legs as they moved in swift and determined steps. Arnold simply smiled at his shock and laughed inwardly at himself. Helga was such a natural dancer, but he had never known. She had told him earlier that she took some ballet lessons. Maybe after ballet she hadn't stopped? He had to admit that Helga was full of surprises, and to his pleasant surprise, she was dancing like a pro; a pro with some rather nice looking legs!

As for Arnold himself, his Grandma Gertie had always wanted him to learn dancing. Of course since this was Gertrude Shortman he was dealing with, Arnold couldn't refuse. His grandmother's dance steps were a bit antiquated; how many teenagers danced the salsa anymore? But still, those awkward first steps he took in the world of dance were worth the thrill when he had first turned on the radio one morning and started dancing without thinking about it.

Later in high school he took some courses like Latin dancing and hip hop. Although he soon discovered he wasn't really adept at the latter. He loved it all the same.

When Helga turned around, her dance partner leaned in and whispered something in her ear that made Helga laugh. Confusion crept into Arnold's mind. Even though the noisy club drowned out her voice, Arnold could tell from the shape of her lips that it wasn't the same laugh as when she pulled pranks on him. This one was filled with so much joy that it lit her face. He felt something strange happening to him, he didn't know why but he felt a nagging feeling that almost made him hate the dark haired stranger that was dancing with Helga, even though he had no idea who the man was.

Besides, it wasn't really his business who Helga danced with anyway…

…was it?

"Arnold?" He looked towards Anya with a blank expression. "Are you okay?" The burgundy haired girl asked.

"Um…yes." Arnold noted the curiosity in Anya's eyebrow. "I just spotted my friend"

"Oh! That's great!"

He smiled back at Anya and put more effort into his dance moves. He kept an eye on Helga now that he had located her. To his surprise, the more he saw the unknown man put his hands on her, the more he felt that feeling bubble up in him and settle at the base of his heart.

_Who is this bozo and why the hell is he putting his hands on her like that?_

It was a strange emotion. He couldn't articulate it in thoughts. All he knew was that it seemed to stem from watching Helga dance alluringly with, that, that, slime ball!

Arnold finally had to close his eyes and shake his head. "I'm sorry to do this, but I just need to check on my friend."

Anya smiled back sadly, but didn't protest as Arnold released her from his arms. "No problem, go ahead Arnold, I have to go meet my boyfriend anyway. Thanks for the dance! You're a good dancer." The woman replied sweetly. Arnold returned her smile, but inside his mind was beating itself up.

How could he be so naïve? A woman as attractive as Anya? Of course she'd have a boyfriend! _I guess I shouldn't assume she was single. I'm such a idiot!_

Meanwhile, Helga's mind was having a giggle fit. The last few times she'd been to a club in downtown Hillwood and danced with a guy, there was always some awkwardness in her steps. It was this jittery feeling that she couldn't comprehend, and while her dance partners never complained, inwardly it always spoiled her night once the dancing was over and she had a chance to realize the random guy had been too busy feeling her up in his mind to really grade her ability and say "_hey you're a good dancer."_

But for some reason, even though Kyle had already given her the cat calls, and while she could tell he really admired the view from up there, his dance moves had kept Helga on her toes. For the past hour he hadn't complained once, and all the awkwardness seemed to vanish.

Like all the other guys she had danced with in the past, Helga didn't feel the sparks of attraction or passion for that matter. Kyle was different in one aspect though. In Helga's gut, she felt as if she'd made a new guy pal she could go out to lunch with on a random day if she happened to stay in this small excuse for a city. He was a nice guy, attractive and despite his open sexuality, wasn't as lewd or ungentlemanly as she'd pegged him. Part of their dancing did include some touching of a more intimate variety. Kyle surprised her though. Not once did she feel that his moves were deliberately timed to take advantage of her. No. Any time he touched her, it was part of the dance routine.

That scored some points for this guy in her book.

Then again, going completely against what she'd told herself earlier, she still found herself imagining dancing with someone else. Her smile faded slightly. It made her feel guilty since Kyle obviously was dancing with her, and only her. And unknown to him, Helga was imagining that she was dancing with...

Helga shook her head, trying to get her mind off it and just have fun. That's what this was all about.

"Man you're one awesome dancer." Kyle complimented, bringing her back up, his hands roaming her sides.

"I try." Helga said coolly. "And no, I'm still not coming back to your place. I'm here with my friends, and we're leaving tomorrow."

Kyle shrugged. "Worth a shot."

Helga laughed and rolled her eyes "You're a real comedian pal!"

Their banter was cut off when Helga saw a finger tap Kyle's shoulder. The man turned around, and his brown eyes met none other than Arnold Shortman.

"I need to talk to my girlfriend here" Arnold's voice held seriousness; the tone had been a bit dark.

"Hey you never told me you had a man." Kyle said as he turned towards a very red Helga, who stammered for words. It was all happening too fast. Fortunately he saved her from further confusion. "Well anyway, it was worth it." he said as he winked, then walked away into the crowd.

Arnold blushed and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry Helga I didn't mean it in that way, sorry for making you lose your dancing partner."

Helga eyed Arnold for a few blank moments as her feet slowly touched the solid floor of reality. Her football headed angel had just used the word girlfriend…. Her football headed angel had just used the word… girlfriend… Her…. Football headed angel… Had just used the word…

A devious smile returned to her face. Now this… This could be even more fun. And she was definitely "feeling it" tonight.

Without another thought Helga reached for Arnold and grabbed him. "That's too bad Football Head, 'cause that means you're the next poor unfortunate soul who has to dance with me." She pressed her body up against his, trying hard not to swoon at their closeness, and looked up into his eyes.

Finding some newfound strength from deep within, and probably because she was just having too much fun, Helga found another use for her old tough girl act that night.

The seductress held on to Arnold like a vice grip, lifted up one of her feet to press her leg into Arnold's kneecap, pressed a hand firmly into Arnold's hip, pushed her nose against his, narrowed her catlike eyes, and this purred. "Show me what you got."

Her closeness and the tone of her voice made Arnold's heart thump. He had never been so close to Helga's face like this before, and he found that instead of feeling fear at the sight of his bully this close to him, he felt serenity. He felt disarmed by her blue eyes and how they seemed to make the world around him disappear. But this only lasted a mere moment. Not missing a beat of the wild music, and realizing how fun this could be, Arnold grinned and then quickly twirled Helga around so her back was against him.

Her breath caught in her throat at the abrupt movement and the feeling of Arnold behind her and against her. Arnold leaned in close and whispered in her ear. Helga breathed out an uncontrolled breath, a silent swoon into the air so that Arnold couldn't hear.

"As you wish." His breath tickled her hair. And in an instant she had lost control to her beloved, as his hand moved down her arm, leaving goose bumps in its wake, to clasp her hand within his. Arnold then rested his hands slowly yet firmly against her stomach. Knees weak and struggling to control her breathing; Helga felt as if she were losing her mind to sweet insanity when Arnold twirled her around again to face him.

She noticed the wide and toothy smile on Arnold's mouth, and across her surprised gaze, Arnold had realized what he had done. He had never surprised Helga G. Pataki like that before, and he found it, well, fun!

_As the shock passed and the DJ started spinning Snap!'s __Rhythm is a Dancer__ on his record deck, Helga grinned catlike up at Arnold. On a silent cue, they began to dance and sway in time with the beat. Helga rocked her hips while moving her right arm, and her feet moved side. Arnold responded to the move by copying her side to side. He then twirled her around _

_Helga smiled as she lifted a leg up to hook it around his waist_

_Arnold tried to hide his blush but it was proving difficult. He put his hand on her leg and he was surprised when he felt Helga's leg tense slightly under his grip. But he didn't think about it for too long. Arnold made sure to grip her leg firmly. When the beat in the song came around again he dipped her down in time with it. Helga's leg straightened during the dip and Arnold caught a glimpse of smooth ivory soft skin and toned muscle, warm from movement._

_Helga's golden hair bounced up as Arnold pulled her up and close to his own body again. __Crimeny this dance is so wild, I never want to stop! _

_The thoughts caused her to shiver, suddenly Arnold let go of her hand and began some solo dance moves while grinning at her like a madman. Helga watched Arnold with mock incredulousness, then deciding not to lose at this little game they were playing, moved herself with the beat as well. And soon both where in a dance-off._

_In didn't last very long, as Arnold soon found himself wanting to hold Helga. It had built up to such an insatiable desire that when the DJ mixed in a slow and soft song that he just couldn't identify, the brave Football headed blond reached out and took a hold of Helga's hands again. _

_Arnold once more slid his hands down to Helga's waist and pulled her close, and Helga hooked her arms around Arnold's neck and gently interlocked her fingers. Soon they were nose to nose, both breathing hard against each other with sweat beading up on their foreheads. Helga moved her hips again in a slow steady motion under Arnold's hands as he moved along with her. _

_He moved along with Helga in a slow melodious dance. He didn't see the glowing but slight smile on Helga's lips, but he did notice the details in her eyes and the way her eyelids seemed to delicately protect her eyes when she closed them. He also noticed how here thick eyebrow(s) seemed to fit her perfectly, and how the smell of her perfume seemed so much more vivid mixed with the faint but telling scent of her own sweat. _

_Arnold blushed, looked down, and when he caught sight of her inviting collarbone, but dared not look down any further, he swallowed. Again, the music seemed to drown out, leaving Arnold and Helga alone in the world, as if God had shined a spotlight on them, but focused most of the beam on Helga, with Arnold on the edge, staring into the soft light._

_Slowly and without thought to the direction they were going, Arnold had managed to dance them closer and closer to the wall near the dance floor. Outside he was calm as a smitten soul could be. Inwardly he was a confused wreck. __Why am I feeling this way? With Helga of all people…I think…I think I want to…_

_He finally noticed the wall near them, and his heart thumped against his chest as he entertained an enticing possibility. Thoughts about good or bad flew from his mind as he almost subconsciously danced Helga closer to the wall until her back was against the dimly lit barrier keeping the room from the cold reality of outside. _

_Helga gasped as she felt her back against the wall. She opened her eyes and stared up questioningly at the handsome blond before her. There was a look in his green eyes. Something that Helga could recognize instantly. There was something stirring there. It was something that she had always dared to dream about. _

_All at once Arnold's eyes were unsure, but his nose was pressed against hers. His irises flinched back and forth as if studying her reaction to him. She also saw hope there. The stirrings of longing. Dare she dream? She let her tongue wet her lips. This was Arnold's move. _

_Arnold's eyelids narrowed and Helga could feel his breath against her lips. Without a word, without a single audible heartbeat, Arnold moved in closer and tilted his head. Helga closed her eyes, letting herself be aware only of her beloved's proximity to her own body. Suddenly she realized that she could feel electricity on her lips, from Arnold's own mouth brushing against hers slightly. _

_But it was only a slight touch, and ended all too soon. Arnold let out a breath and furrowed his eyebrows in frustration as he stepped back, letting Helga loose from his embrace. _

_Helga opened her eyes to see Arnold furrowing his eyebrows and closing his eyes as he stepped away. She could plainly see the embarrassment on his face as he covered his forehead with his hand and then ran it through his hair._

_"Sorry Helga, I don't know what got into me." He said quietly, and then looked away lest he faced the wrath of the bully he had always known._

_Helga screwed her eyes shut, swore to herself, and gently knocked her head back against the wall in frustration._

_The two stood in silence. The music continued to play and the crowd flowed around them. Frustration and awkwardness danced silently between the two of them while Arnold tried to think of a way to save this night. Helga was about to save him the trouble and stalk away in mock anger when Gerald emerged from the crowd, an arm around Phoebe's midsection, herself grinning from ear to ear. _

_"Hey Arnold." Helga stopped in her tracks, and Arnold turned to face his friends, his mouth slightly open. _

_The tension between his two friends was not lost on Gerald as he looked back an fourth between them, like he saw thin webs. He opened his mouth to say something about the duo, a joke, but then thought better of it when he saw the seriousness in Helga's eyes, and the strange blush on Arnold's cheeks. _

_"We're gonna get on goin', Phoebs is pretty tired and I want to get out of here anyway." Gerald explained as he pulled Phoebe a little closer. Phoebe looked at the two of them with a smile, but it was obvious from her posture that she had been lost in her own world of fantasy. "You guys coming, or you gonna stick around a bit?" Gerald finished._

_Helga shrugged then said in a deflated voice. "Nah, you guys go ahead, I'M staying right here. Don't know about ol' Football Head here." _

_"I'm uh, gonna stick around too." Arnold didn't want to admit it was for Helga. Something was going on between the two of them, Helga was the key, and he didn't want to hear Helga say __'I can take care of myself! I don't need your protection!'_

_"Suit yourselves." Gerald winked at them. "We'll be back at the hotel, and um, Arnold, if you don't find me in our room, no worries man."_

_"Oh joy." Helga rolled her eyes and then turned away from the group with her arms folded._

_"You two have fun and stay safe." Phoebe said, blushing furiously. "We'll see you in the morning if we don't see you before we all go to bed."_

_"Go to bed indeed..." Helga muttered under her breath._

_"All right Gerald, we'll see you back at the hotel." Arnold tried to smile at Gerald and Phoebe, but his mind was already conflicted. Sharing a hotel room again with his nemesis didn't sound too bad for some reason, but another glance at Helga, and he knew things were already much more complicated than he could ever imagine. _

_"Will do, man." Gerald and Phoebe then disappeared into the crowd again. _

_XXX_

_"Are you sure we should leave them alone, Gerald?" Phoebe questioned as they exited the club._

_"They'll be fine, babe. Like you always say." Gerald winked. "And come on, you remember seein' 'em earlier when they was dancin' like that, right? They'll forget about whatever's eatin' them and be dancing again in no time."_

_Phoebe giggled at the memory of watching their best friends tear up the dance floor in a more sexual, more intimate version of their tango back on April Fool's Day in fourth grade. This time it didn't end up with half the crowd in a heated pool that had questionable plumbing. _

_~Flashback~_

_"What's up, babe? You look worried." Gerald noted as he came back with their drinks._

_"Helga is dancing with a strange guy." Phoebe said. She bit her lip in uncertainty and then shook her head. "The way they're dancing..."_

_Gerald followed Phoebe's gaze, and saw Helga in the middle of a very provocative dance step with a strange man he hadn't seen before either. It had to have been some dirt bag trying to pick her up, given the way he was looking at her._

_"Ah man, you're right, babe. What's goin' on with that?"_

_"I don't know, it's been quite a while...I'm getting worried, what if he tries to pressure her into a one night stand? You can never be too careful in a club."_

_"Hey now, don't worry Phoebe, if we gotta intervene, we'll do that. But for now we-whoa, do you see what I see?"_

_Phoebe's eyes widened behind her glasses and she held a hand to her mouth. "Oh my!"_

_They watched in surprise as Arnold went up to the man dancing with Helga and tapped him on the shoulder. The man turned to Arnold, and whatever it was their friend was saying, they could tell from his body language that he meant serious business. Arnold was the quiet, pleasant type. The very kind that only got angry if they thought the situation called for it, and that was when you had to watch out. _

_The man left after saying something to Helga. Phoebe and Gerald watched in shock as their friends exchanged some words, quickly closed the distance between them and began to dance, very close, very intimately, very...sexually. It was all part of the dance of course. Helga even brought her leg up to his waist on cue. It was 'a bold move' for the girl, which Gerald had to admit out loud as he shook his head. A pretty bold move._

_Gerald and Phoebe, still flabbergasted at the site before them, watched as their respective best friends danced with probably the most intense chemistry anyone could set their eyes on. Okay, it wasn't a typical showstopper, but a couple of people DID stop dancing to watch them in amazement._

_"...Whoa Phoebe...major déjà-vu almost, ain't it?"_

_"...It sure is, Gerald." Phoebe murmured, immediately catching on to what he meant. "It certainly is."_

_~End of Flashback~_

_"Well, I'm sure they'll have some fun now." Phoebe said, nodding her head._

_"Not like they weren't before! Man, I ain't never seen my man Arnold so passionate and into a dance before, aside from back in fourth grade. And with Helga G. Pataki no less! He's one bold kid, for sure."_

_Phoebe giggled again. "Well Gerald, ever since childhood they have always had a sort of a connection that even I can't comprehend completely, and a lot of chemistry. It's no wonder it seems so enhanced at this point."_

_"Mmmm...you make a good point there, babe."_

_"I try to, Gerald."_

_"You don't even need to try, you just do it by openin' your mouth."_

_"Hee hee! Oh, Gerald. Don't say that. Even I make mistakes."_

_Gerald gave a laugh, and held her hand as they came back to the hotel. "So, your room or mine?" They each took out their own room keys. _

_Phoebe blushed. "I...suppose we can use mine. We'll just have to move luggage around." _

_Gerald laughed, hugged Phoebe to him, and embraced her in a sensual kiss. Phoebe gasped lightly, but melted into his embrace. They kissed in the hallway for minutes. Phoebe broke the kiss, leaving Gerald to steal them mercilessly. "Mmm. Mmm. Ger. Ger-gerald wait." Phoebe struggled between kisses but smiled nonetheless and let her boyfriend steal every last one. _

_"Yes?" Gerald asked and kissed her again, this time on the nose and then on her cheeks and neck, before finally settling on her mouth again. _

_"Mmm. Wait." Phoebe broke the kiss and blushed. She caught her ragged breath and pleaded. "The room?"_

_Gerald looked around then at the door. "Oh… Heh heh."_

_Phoebe let go of Gerald for a brief moment and opened the door. Once inside and with the door firmly shut, she turned to Gerald. The two lovers closed their distance in a simple hug. _

_They shared playful kisses and twirled around slowly with their arms around each other, until Phoebe felt Gerald move his hands down below her back where he grabbed her firmly. Without another word she picked her feet up off the floor to wrap her petite legs around Gerald's waist. Her hands interlocked above his strong back. Mere moments later, their tongues met._

_Eventually Gerald pulled back and kissed along Phoebe's dainty neck, then up to an ear where he nibbled, careful not to harm her jewelry. The Japanese girl from Kentucky moaned softly and clung to his jersey._

_Through the excited thoughts dancing in her mind, and the breathless pleasure she was feeling throughout her body, Phoebe found Gerald's ear and whispered with barely a voice. "_Ai shiteru_..."_

_A chuckle escaped Gerald as he kissed her on the cheek to add to the endearment. "Love you too, Phoebe. Now...if you want I can check under your hood."_

_XXX_

_Arnold felt Helga's body against his as they danced; something he was becoming accustomed to. _

_After Gerald and Phoebe left, leaving the two of them alone on the dance floor, he had turned to look at Helga, only to see her leaning against the wall, hugging herself, and staring off into the distance at nothing in particular. He sighed. Perhaps now wasn't the best time to talk. _

_He knew Helga was one of those people that you didn't just approach and offer to 'talk' about what was bothering them. Something he understood about Helga. If you wanted to get to know Helga, get her in her element. He shook his head. Where did that come from? That understanding? It seemed right. Perhaps he never really considered it. _

_So there they were, Arnold looking at Helga staring off in the distance. He watched the colored lights overhead shine off of her hair and he remembered the way her hair looked under light spilling in from the window of the hotel room the night before, and how her ear stuck out from under her long hair in an alluring way, much like it was doing now._

_Arnold smiled. Bully or no. Hell girl or angel. He would be damned if he'd let his stupid actions ruin Helga's night. There was too much fun to be had. They could talk about things later. But right now…_

_Arnold reached over and placed a hand on Helga's shoulder. She looked at him curiously, eyebrow arched, and Arnold simply grinned. "C'mon. Let's dance." _

_To which Helga grinned, and without a word, held out her hand for Arnold to take._

_Which led to where they were now, five songs past that moment, sweat in a layer under their hair, and desperately thirsty. So after Haddaway's __What Is Love?__ ended and the DJ decided to torture everyone by playing __The__Macarena__, Arnold stopped dancing and Helga followed suit. He looked at her and noticed that she was just as out of breath has he. "You thirsty? I'm really in need for some soda."_

_"That's a no-brainer, Football Head, definitely get some." Helga agreed amid deep breaths. She wiped a wrist across her forehead._

_Helga walked in front of the two of them, intent on leading Arnold to the bar, when she nearly stopped at the sensation of Arnold's hand gently pressing against the middle of her back. An incredible feeling shot up her spine. Something she had never experienced. Something romantic. Something she would never forget, and never trade for anything else. To others who looked at the pair, they would assume Arnold's stance looked protective of his 'girlfriend.' Helga tried to act cool and indifferent; like this was a common occurrence. Inside she was melting. She would never forget the almost-kiss that they shared. This simple feeling of Arnold's fingers guiding her along protectively, more than made up for it._

_It stayed in her mind when Arnold ordered their drinks, and it kept her quiet and smiling. It stayed in her mind while they stood about, drinking their sodas. She looked at Arnold and smiled wistfully. And when Arnold turned her way and looked at her, instead of shaking it off and yelling at him not to stare like countless times in her youth, she let him see her smile. _

_Arnold finished off his soda and then sat it on the bar. "You know, that girl I danced with earlier said that this club has an interesting game going on sometime later."_

_"Hm? Really what kind?" Helga asked as Arnold's words broke her out of a trance._

_"Not sure, all I know is that it involves a hat and is something like musical chairs. It's probably all part of a clever ruse to keep people here so they'll buy more drinks, but at least it's entertaining."_

_"Sounds like fun, so would you like to stay longer to play? It couldn't hurt plus it might be cool to see if we win. Hell. I'm always up for a challenge, Football Head! Let's give her a shot."_

_"Good I'm always up for competing against you"_

_"Oh so you love challenging me eh?"_

_"Yes I do, it's like riding a bull…eh?"_

_"Shut up, you Canadian" she joked. _

_"You know grandpa told me that if we did sell the boarding house to Scheck, I might had to be a Canadian….heh he even made a joke about the Brightside of having to eat Canadian bacon all the time." _

_"Talk about a stereotype." A stab in her stomach came at the mention of Scheck... The FTi incident...the rooftop... She tried desperately to keep her smile up for Arnold, but that memory made it difficult._

_"Helga? What's wrong?"_

_"Nothing, just...feel a little dizzy." Helga trailed off. She leaned against the bar and put a hand to her forehead._

_Arnold stood in front of Helga and gently removed her hand from her forehead and placed his own hand in its place. __She doesn't feel warm__,__Arnold thought. _

_He then cupped Helga's cheeks to look straight into her eyes. "Do you want to lay down or something?" _

_"I need to lie down."_

_"Wonderful! I'll go with you!"_

_Helga shook her head of the memory and closed her eyes. She smiled and Arnold let go of her cheeks. "Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry. It'll pass."_

_Arnold knew he didn't like that answer. Something in his mind yelled __Heat Stroke. _

_Helga closed her eyes again then yelped out when, without warning, her legs lost contact with the floor. Arnold had picked her up bridal style. "The last thing I want is for you to die of heat stroke. We'll go back to the Hotel and cool off, okay."_

_Helga simply nodded, placed her hands around Arnold's neck for support, and closed her eyes. __Oh my God! He's carrying me! He's carrying me! Oh no no no no, not good, not good...! Oh God what if he takes me back to his room and-NO! That's just wishful thinking._

_They had made it only a single yard when the lights in the room changed abruptly and the atmosphere filled with an old disco song they couldn't identify. Arnold and Helga looked at each other and just stood as the DJ's voice boomed throughout the space. "Ladies and gentleman! Stick around for tonight's epic Musical Hat Game!" _

_Without warning, Helga jumped out of his arms, _smiled at him, then took his hands into her own and led him out onto the dance floor. "C'mon Football Head. Let's do this thing."

He just followed her, dumbfounded at her sudden change. He could have sworn she was about to die a moment ago. Helga put his right hand into her left and forcefully wrapped his arm around her waist as the disco song faded out and the DJ began playing a fast waltz. Arnold wanted to protest, for about two seconds, but soon he discovered that letting Helga take control was, sort of fun. He blushed when she pulled closer to him as they started dancing_. He never entertained the possibility that one day he would think Helga smelled nice, and there was something significant about holding her that made him not want to let go._

_Green, purple, red, blue lights all flashed on and off as the DJ yelled. "All right! Is everyone READY?"_

_"READY!" Chorused the crowd._

_The DJ tossed a hat that was something of a gangster hat from the 1950's into the crowd. Someone caught the antiquated gray hat, and the DJ yelled. "Let the game BEGIN!" The music played again as the hat was passed around among the crowd. Each person put the hat on then placed it on someone else's head until the music called "Pass" or "Stop" _

_Helga kept up with Arnold until he suddenly pulled her closer; she couldn't help but_ smell his hair. The song quickly changed to something more upbeat and Arnold smiled. "That's a bit better." He said as he quickly spun Helga around until her back was pressed against his chest.

Helga smirked deviously as she curled her hands up and through Arnold's hair. As they both moved with the beat, Arnold twirled her around and pulled her close to him again. They were nose to nose, and looked as if they were dancing a circle around each other, ready to battle.

"PASS!"

Arnold barely heard the DJ. His attention was straight ahead, tuned to the girl who picked on him all his life, even as the young woman who danced before him. He did all the fancy moves he had ever learned, and was amazed how easily, and how long Helga was able to keep up with him. This of course meant that Helga had some practice under her belt.

"I'm pretty puzzled how you learned all this stuff. You're a natural." At that statement, he could see a glimmer in Helga's eyes.

"I took ice skating as a hobby a few years ago, Phoebs talked me into it, and you learn a lot in choreographed dance moves, except on the ice. And plus I learned a thing or two from some books and a CD player when I had nothing else to do."

"PASS!"

The two continued the silly but fun game. But as the game progressed, their dancing changed. As they shared practically the same space, and danced around each other, daring the other to up the ante, and getting more daring, more sexual, as time progressed, the world around them ceased to matter. They danced the moves of two people in love, as if it was a natural to them. Neither minded all the touches the other one did as part of the dance moves

Arnold dipped Helga all the way back, and as she slowly traveled down, she brought her knee up around his waist. She had expected him to blush, or even let go and send her head first to the ground, but he didn't. The surprise was hers when he grabbed the back of her leg and held her there just like the last time. This time, however, she could feel an almost sexual desire in his touch, and she wondered if he felt the same.

Arnold's soft eyes looked down at the young woman in his arms. Helga found herself all at once lost in an emerald stare that the poetess in her once opined were pools that she could swim in.

"PASS!"

The DJ's booming voice shook her out of those thoughts. Almost like clockwork, in her literally upside down view of the world, she saw the hat being held out to her by someone in the crowd. Without another thought, as if her brain and her heart were on auto-pilot, she quickly stood back up in Arnold's arms and placed the hat on his head…

…then the song ended.

The two looked at each other in silence for a moment. Then without warning, their private thoughts were drowned out by thunderous applause as everyone around them began to cheer loudly.

The pair looked around at the smiling, clapping crowd, and then looked at each other. Arnold gave a smile and took off the hat. Then as Helga looked at him, puzzled, he placed it firmly on her head. Helga couldn't help but giggle.

"I think it looks better on you."

"Will the winners please step up to claim prize!" Arnold eagerly walked towards the stage while holding Helga's hand. She grinned and followed after him. Never would she forget this triumphant feeling that she had shared with her beloved.

Arnold approached the DJ. He was a short, slightly rotund man, with black hair and matching framed glasses. "So what's your name, dude?" He asked as he held the microphone towards Arnold.

"Arnold."

"Ah, and who's the sweet chick with ya? Your girlfriend?"

Arnold was about to answer, when, almost drunk from all the excitement around her, brought her arms around him and kissed his cheek.

"You bet I am. I'm Helga and Arnold here is mine. You hear that, girls? MINE!" She spoke forcefully into the microphone while pointing a thumb to her chest.

Arnold's eyes widened. Did, Helga just claim him as hers? His thoughts were derailed when the DJ slapped him on the back. "Well the prize for you love birds is a five-hundred dollar gift card for the Marjinin Mall and of course, the hat! Give it up Arnold and Helga!"

The dance floor erupted in applause once more. Going with the flow, and smiling at the recognition, Arnold put an Arm around Helga.

One really odd thought did cross his mind. _Just a while ago I was mad at her for ruining this vacation_

Looking at her smiling at the crowd Arnold couldn't help but smile at her. Not just because her smile was infectious, but because Arnold had never noticed before how really fun, and, downright gorgeous she could be.

XXXX

The still night air surrounded them as they walked towards their hotel. The two blondes, an unlikely pair, were still pretty excited about their prize, and the glow from the dance shone on their faces from under the moonlight. "I can't believe we won this much money but I think it's best to save it just in case something else happens during this trip."

"Always doing the practical thing, eh?" Helga nudged Arnold playfully on the side, and then took the hat from him, placing it on her head. Arnold didn't protest. "But I'm inclined to agree, all things considered. It's smart to have back up." As they approached the hotel, she thought a moment. "I think Geraldo and Phoebs are gonna be rooming again. Looks like we'll havta be roomies."

"You're not going to be all hostile with me are you?" Arnold muttered. He knew he was going to start a fight with those words, even though he really didn't want to spar at the moment. These past few hours had made him reluctant to fight with a girl whom, he had to admit, was deeper than he had ever dared imagine.

"That depends... You can never tell with Helga G. Pataki." With a saucy wink, she placed the hat back on his head, covering his eyes. Arnold missed a few steps out of shock, and fell into place behind Helga as she continued walking. "But I think I'll cut you a break tonight. You did win this, and you're one hell of a dancer, so I think tonight we can have ourselves a truce but tomorrow"

She shook her fist "Watch out."

Arnold re-adjusted the hat on his head then resumed walking beside Helga again. "...Whatever you say, Helga." He rolled his eyes and shot a good-natured smile her way. He had never known Helga to blow off the chance to start an argument, until now.

"Damn right, Football Head. Whatever I say."

XXXX

Once in the hotel room, Helga and Arnold quickly discarded their evening attire, separately of course, with Helga taking the bathroom and Arnold with the beds. They shared raunchy jokes about Gerald and Phoebe controlling their hormones just enough to deposit Helga's luggage in the room, haphazardly on the floor.

After straightening the luggage and changing their clothes, they rested on top of the sheets of the same bed, and stared at the ceiling. Helga had on gray sweatpants and a pink shirt, while Arnold had, to Helga's amusement, more traditional pajamas. They took turns pointing out shapes in the spackle to each other. Neither of them wanted the moments to end.

But as the minutes slowly wore on, and the spackle shapes had faded from their minds, the two stared at the ceiling, reminiscing.

"…and don't get me started on Rhonda." Helga continued her rant while Arnold listened intently. "Did you ever hear that Harold caught Rhonda and Curly in the janitor closet one time in the tenth grade?"

Arnold laughed, partly out of shock and partly out of Helga's vast knowledge of class rumor mill history. "No. Wait. Didn't Rhonda break up with Harold that same year?"

Helga nodded at the ceiling. "Yep. That was probably the reason why he screwed up so bad on our homecoming game with Haddleton High a week later."

Arnold tilted his head to look at Helga, realization on his face. "I thought Harold was just disoriented and pissed off. You know, recovering from the flu."

Helga looked to her side at Arnold. "You really think that Lummox had the flu." Helga laughed and then looked back up at the ceiling. "As if seeing your girlfriend in the janitor closet with her legs wrapped around Curly Gammelthorpe is torture enough, being forced to be on the same field with her as head cheerleader, cheering you on while in the band section a tuba played each touchdown as loud as humanely possible would probably cause you to snap."

Realization dawned on Arnold. Helga nodded and continued. "And Harold caused us to forfeit after he charged the tuba player in the band section all the way from fifty yard line. And that tuba player, playing loud enough for the head cheerleader to notice, happened to be…"

Arnold looked at Helga and they both said in unison, "Curly Gammelthorpe!"

"Wow Helga. I had no idea. I do remember that game though." Arnold said as he recalled the middle of the second half when out of nowhere, their star quarterback, Harold Berman, suddenly yelled out like the incredible hulk and ran all the way from the fifty yard line to vault into the band section. In a clean precise jump, he had connected with and took out the overly loud tuba player, leaving no collateral damage but throwing the game nonetheless. Arnold had been too busy with other things, so the rumor mill, and the identity of the tuba player, had passed him by.

Why Rhonda, Rhonda Wellington Lloyd, would leave the star quarterback for the band nerd was beyond everyone in the class. It had the makings of a horrid teen High School movie though.

"It's the stuff legends, and crappy movies, are made of." Helga admitted.

Arnold nodded in agreement but giggled a bit. "The popular girl falling in love with the most notorious guy in class? You bet."

"Yeah…" Helga trailed off. If Arnold had turned his head in Helga's direction that very moment, he would have caught in her eyes what truths his statement had conjured up in Helga's mind.

He would have caught a moment in time where his bullies impenetrable façade had a crack open wide enough for him to see his own significance in her world. The popular falling in love with the notorious in real life was not such a pathetic cliché.

But when Arnold DID turn towards Helga to see her staring up at the ceiling again with a strange sort of smile on her face, he had missed the opportunity.

"I had fun tonight, Arnold." Helga admitted.

"Same here."

"We should get some sleep."

"I'm too tired to move."

Arnold laughed. "Me too."

"So who gets the other bed?"

"I can take it."

"Okay"

…

"Why aren't you moving?"

"I can't move. I'm beat. You wanna talk some more?"

"Okay."

"Good. What should we talk about?"

"I don't know. Let's just lay here for a sec. We'll thank of something."

Time passed and Arnold felt the bed move. He looked over to see Helga turned on her side towards him and staring at him through bleary eyes. "We should dance again sometime." She smiled.

"I'd like that." Arnold agreed and looked back up at the ceiling. Thoughts ran through his mind. Should he talk about the almost kiss. Helga seemed to be in an agreeable albeit tired mood right now. He had to admit he'd never seen Helga like this before. Should he test the waters?

A few moments later and he had his answer. "Hey. I was thinking, about what happened tonight with, you know, us, almost, you know." He struggled to form his words, waiting at any moment for Helga's rebuttal. "It was heat of the moment right… Helga?" He turned his head towards her, and then let go of a sigh.

There beside him, Helga's eyes were closed, and her hands were tucked under her head like a pillow. Her hair was pooled around her head, and he could hear a slight snore from her nose. She was smiling, the epitome of a serene picture.

He spied a stray strand of hair, the one he had helped tuck behind Helga's ear earlier in the evening. He grinned slightly and reached out. "Goodnight Helga" Arnold whispered as he gently tucked the stray lock of golden hair behind her ear once more. He let his hand fall between them and he watched her sleep.

It was strange. He had known this girl all his life. She had tortured him. She was his bully, his nemesis, the one who caused him a lifetime's worth of grief and made his worldview just a little pessimistic. And here Helga was asleep beside him after one of the most exciting nights of his life that she'd had a hand in, and not as a thorn at his side, but as a close, personal friend.

Was this what they had said put into practice, how after high school, the ladder just didn't matter anymore. Enemies became acquaintances, maybe even friends, and longtime buddies strayed apart. The drama became absurd after that last day when you realized you had the rest of your life to contend with, and the lockers would be nothing compared to the morning commute.

Arnold thought all this, but didn't realize the world had faded around him into a fog. Thoughts of horns honking in a traffic jam that he had no control over, played over and over again in his mind. Endless streams of headlights and thick raindrops, both, soaked into his shirt. Then he finally parked his car, and walked into work at some nameless office, not knowing who anyone was. Arnold could tell he was in his underwear at this nameless job. The late principal Wartz from PS 118, the receptionist, looked up from his clipboard.

Arnold didn't think much of this as the images played on in his mind. Of course, it is rare for someone to know they are dreaming, and Arnold was no exception. All he knew he wanted was to be in his room, in his bed. Under his sheets. He felt cold for some reason. Then in an instant he found he was in his room, in his bed. To his left stood the wall, and to his right the rest of his room. Beside him was a pink body pillow. It seemed out of place but he didn't care.

Without another word, Arnold snuggled up to the pink body pillow, gripped it with his hand rested his head on top, and fell asleep in his dream. He had descended into a world where he was in a plane, searching for his parents over the jungle of San Lorenzo. It was truly where he wanted to be; peacefully dreaming among the fluffy pillowy clouds.

XXX

Morning peaked in from around the dark curtains of the hotel room window, and broke through Arnold's dream.

_Mmm... _The blonde boy stirred, but he didn't want to wake up. He wanted to continue dreaming. In protest, he snuggled closer to the warm body pillow beside him, his nose buried in the fragrance of softness. He was too comfortable at the moment to wake up, and his dream was too good. He was having a picnic with his parents, in Tina Park.

Then the sounds came. They were soft at first, but then a car honked outside. He slowly squint his eyes. He wanted to sleep. He was tired. Something was soft and squishy, yet firm, under his hand, but he couldn't even register what it was or what it could've been. Not that it mattered anyway. He gripped at his pillow tighter and snuggled closer.

This time he heard something like a gasp. His hand moved slightly, and whatever he was holding, the soft and squishy thing, moved along with him. As he did, the sound came a little louder.

Then as the dream started flittering away in his mind, the sounds became a little more frequent, and although soft, a little louder. And the sound of a soft yet sharp breath finally registered in his mind.

Meanwhile, Helga was fully awake, having awoken to the surprise of her life when she discovered that Arnold had fallen asleep beside her and had gravitated towards her over the night. He was resting his head on her left breast while holding her other firmly with his free hand.

It was unknown to anyone other than herself and Phoebe, that Helga's breasts were very sensitive. Phoebe only knew from one time when the two of them were jumping on a trampoline and her best friend's hand connected forcefully with her chest on accident. The result was Helga sitting on the trampoline doubled over and swearing while Phoebe hunched over her saying '_Gomen nasai Helga!_'

Arnold stirred slightly, causing Helga to move, and he murmured in protest. His hand slightly squeezed her breast while he buried his head more into her chest. Arnold had his other arm snaked underneath her, and as he pulled her against him, Helga did nothing to stop heavy breaths that escaped from between her lips, and the blush that was spreading.

The initial shock had given away. It felt too good so she had closed her eyes. She didn't even notice that Arnold was slowly waking up.

"Arnold...aahhh...aahh..." She moaned her beloved's name quietly in pleasure, as images played in her mind, and sensations spread from her chest.

"H-H-HELGA!" There was a pause. Helga's froze solid as Arnold let go of her in one fluid motion, then jumped back, falling off of the bed and hitting his head against the wall. "OW!"

"Huh?" Helga's eyes snapped open, as if Arnold's sudden movements had woken her up "...Arnold?" She said in a wobbly voice as she peered over the bed. "...Hey, you okay? What happened?" Helga desperately feigned ignorance, despite the slight pink in her cheeks and the heat on her chest.

"I-I-I'M-I'M-I'm so-so-sorry Helga, I mean…I didn't mean to…I didn't know, I'm ah…" putting his head down, Arnold tried to breath, to calm his nerves. He then realized he was excited down south, and tried to ignore it. "I'm sorry that was very disrespectful towards you and you have the right to hit me because I deserve it for being such a – well for doing what I did in which I shouldn't have done but I didn't know I did it until I felt you..um…well you know what I mean, I'm so sorry Helga and if you really want you can tell me, give me your best shot" he was rambling and he knew it.

Through her own arousal, inwardly, Helga had started berating herself the moment she heard Arnold's confused ramble, like a frightened squirrel cowering in a corner, awaiting punishment. One side of her mind said Arnold had did nothing wrong, the other said that, she had caused this reaction in Arnold.

Helga looked away from Arnold, at the sheets before her, and tried to will away the feelings in her body that she knew she didn't deserve, just like Arnold didn't deserve all her wrath for so many years. At that point there was so much she could tell him to ease his fright. To him, the old Helga was probably ready to punch him out at any moment.

The thoughts raced through her head along with the fading glow of hormones and heat. She had a million things she could say, or do, but all Helga could muster when she looked up at Arnold and smiled faintly was:

"Don't start what you can't finish."

Arnold stared at Helga, puzzled at what she had just said.

It wasn't until a brief moment later, that Helga realized what she had just admitted to Arnold, that she had enjoyed what he was doing. And then the panic, and embarrassment, set in.

Without another word, her cheeks bright red, Helga took her bag and hurried into the bathroom. Once inside she closed the door and leaned against it as she panted heavily in an adrenaline fueled panic. _Why did I say THAT?_

_XXXXXX_

"Don't start what you can't finish."

_Did…I just…hear her correctly? No, no, she wouldn't have said that…would she? _

Arnold sighed, and lowered his head down to his knees.

_This is going to be a long trip._

_End of Chapter_

_**BrokenRose: Sorry for the late update but we DIDN'T forget about you guys! Well it took this bum a while to edit but damn he did a wonderful job at it! So ladies and Gentlemen give it up for our beta pyrexshards! **_


	4. To the mall we go

Road Trip

To the mall we go

Later that morning...

The door closed behind Helga and Arnold. It sealed shut the now vacant hotel room where they had silently agreed to leave behind a memory of an awkward moment that the two of them would never speak about in public, or perhaps even between the two of them, ever.

The pair walked, luggage in tow, down the brightly lit hallway, their steps were muted on the red and green carpeting. Helga occasionally glanced in Arnold's direction, and wondered what he was thinking, but thought perhaps it would be better to not ask. Arnold, her sweet Arnold, seemed embarrassed. This brought a small frown to her face. Something inside her wanted to reach out and take his hand in hers, to re-assure him. She squint her eyes for a moment, berating herself inwardly, as they approached the front counter.

She didn't deserve to touch Arnold, she knew. If they were closer than they were, if she hadn't tortured him for years, then perhaps she could share with him a moment that she knew Gerald and Phoebe had shared over the past few days. Perhaps, dare she dream, she could be Arnold's girl. They would have stayed there on that bed, laughed at the awkward moment, and perhaps even shared a kiss, or something more. Helga sighed. It could have been a lot of fantastical things, and not ended with Arnold recoiling like he had awaken a cobra.

She heard Arnold speaking pleasantries to the hotel concierge, but she didn't pay attention to what he was saying. All she heard was his handsome and deep voice. _How did his voice get so deep?_ Her heart skipped a beat when a realization dawned on her. _When did his voice get so deep?_ It had been forever since she last discovered something new about Arnold. It elicited in her a slight swoon and she could feel her heart flutter. His dancing last night didn't have the same effect on her because she had seen him dance before. At April Fool's day. At the prom...

Arnold finished thanking the hotel staff, and then approached Helga. If he had been there a moment earlier he would have heard an involuntary swoon erupting from Helga's heart. Instead what he got was a slightly distant look on Helga's face, and an odd smile that he had seen from here before, long ago. "Helga? Ready to go?"

Helga shook her head slightly and looked at Arnold. "I'm sorry. What Arnold?"

Arnold smiled back, and reached down to grasp his luggage. "We should hit the road. We're burning daylight."

Gerald and Phoebe were already waiting by the car when their friends exited the Hotel.

Helga was the first to say anything a good five yards before they even reached the car. "Thank you SO MUCH for making us room again, Geraldo! Tonight, you boys are rooming and don't even start whining about the lack of getting laid!"

"I concur Helga, I believe we can do fine with that." Phoebe said coolly as the two approached, she could plainly see the look of disappointment on Gerald's face.

"Then let's go, troops. Time to hit the road!"

XXX

A scant fifteen minutes later, the team of intrepid vacationers arrived at the Marjinin Mall. Save for one person, there was a sigh of relief as Gerald parked the car and all complaints about the $600 new tire he had to buy came to a halt.

They all piled out of the car in unison then stood there, looking at the sight before them, and not knowing where to begin. Marjinin Mall was unlike the malls they were used to in Hillwood. Those were single or two story indoor numbers, the very pinnacle of climate controlled shopping. Instead, this mall was all outdoors. Before them sat a collection of connected buildings in a valley that one walked down a set of stairs from the parking lot to reach.

For a group of city kids, this was different. They walked down the cement stairs two in a row, and then down an alley of two buildings with an overhead arch emblazoned with the name of the mall in stylized red letters. The entire area looked very well kept up, and as they exited the "entrance," and into a large common space filled with sidewalks, trees, fountains, flowers, chirping red robins, all bordered by brand name stores like one would see at a typical mall, it suddenly dawned on Helga and Phoebe that this was some sort of shopper's paradise, if there were such a thing in Heaven. Not that Helga cared about such things. Phoebe, though, had a smile on her face. Even Arnold and Gerald couldn't get past the commercial magic that assaulted their senses.

It didn't take long for the group to find their first store. Immediately to their left was a Bath and Body Works. Phoebe had wanted to go into a body and bath store, and immediately trained her cuteness factor on her boyfriend, giving Gerald her puppy eyes, and making Gerald almost melt into a puddle.

When they entered the store, different scents hit their noses, altogether friendly yet also seeming to say '_you're in a store now. Buy stuff!'_

Helga immediately set about looking at the source of the aroma, a display of perfumes. One by one she picked up the bottles. She lingered on a few more interesting scents, and made faces to those she didn't like, which were a good majority. Beside Helga, at the table as well, Arnold picked up a bottle and brought it to his nose.

Helga sat another bottle down on the table, it made a slight thud as she did so. "I hate these la-de –la perfumes, they all stink."

Arnold smiled and proffered Helga the bottle in his hand. "I don't know Helga this one doesn't, actually maybe you'd like this one since it's not too strong" Helga reached out for the bottle and gave it a closer look. The bottle was pink and heart shaped, tied on the top with a plastic red ribbon.

"I think it smells really good." Arnold admitted, lingered on Helga's curious expression, and then walked away.

Helga admired the bottle for a few moments more. It was like something right out of her heart. No pun intended. She sniffed it, and then sprayed some on her wrists. It smelled really nice, with a sweet tanginess that wasn't too strong. It seemed to compliment the air around her, and she liked it. '_What the heck. I like it, he thinks it smells nice...maybe I'll get a small bottle for the road.' _ She thought.

Arnold had already exited the store, having been bored enough with the stuff inside, by the time Helga walked out a few minutes later. She approached Arnold, who noticed the small bag in her hand. "What did you buy?"

"Oh, you know, a little perfume. Gotta smell presentable, don't I?"

"Whatever you say, Helga."

"You got it, buckaroo. So. You got anything in mind you're looking to buy?"

"I really wish I could get that keyboard I always wanted but I know I should save the prize money for this trip. Other then that I really don't know if I want anything."

"A keyboard, eh?" Helga grinned. '_Note to self, get him that for Christmas.' _She caught control of her grin, and then prodded Arnold a little more. "Oh come ON. You must have SOMETHING you want to buy. A book? A game? A movie? Maybe a new sweater? New shoes?"

"I already have books at home, I have a lot of video games too, grandma has given me plenty of sweaters to last me a long time and I have shoes at home. Maybe I should buy something for my grandparents."

"Oh c'mon Arnold you always buy stuff for other people. What do _you_ want?"

Arnold stared at the blonde girl in front of him. That question hit him more than he thought she'd ever realize. There was something about the disarmingly soft look on her face, and the slight smell of perfume that he knew was from her, that set upon Arnold's mind like a truth serum. He thought about her question and then sighed. He turned around and rested his arms on a wrought iron railing overlooking a large pond. Arnold looked down and spotted some koi just below the surface. They seemed drawn to him, their wide mouths breaking the surface and waiting silently for food. "Well it's really silly?"

"I'm not going to tell."

"You told on me before Helga."

"Okay I swear under my father's grave I will not tell anyone." Helga punctuated her oath with a hand over her heart.

"Love."

Helga's eyes widened slightly. "...Love?"

"Yeah...well, like I said, it's silly. Forget I said it, I-"

Helga approached and stood beside Arnold. She rested on the railing and the two watched as the huge red and white goldfish gave up on Arnold and silently moved over to Helga's reflection. "Oh come on Arnoldo, I'm not gonna start acting all weird because you said something like _that_. Frankly I think any normal human with a functioning brain would be looking for love. Come on, it's human nature to want to share life alongside someone else. But listen Football Head, you don't go _looking_ for love. It just happens. And when it does..." Her eyes met his. "...You'll just know."

"So have you…you know... dated anyone? Have you ever felt loved?"

"..." Helga sighed and looked up towards the other side of the pond. Beneath them, the koi gave up their silent begging and swam off to another corner of the pond. "No. I tried dating once or twice. But they were both jerks, assholes trying to sweet-talk me and make it seem like they're the greatest guys ever, but all they wanted was to get into my pants, and would whine and complain whenever I told them I wasn't ready. Saying that I was a cock tease and should be glad that a guy would want me. They don't want me. They just want a good fuck."

Arnold watched her profile, and her distracted far off look. He felt pretty bad for her, it was hard for girls trying to find a good man. Yes they were there but it was hard to find them, the teenagers their age only focused on one thing: sex. It was sad but true. Sid, for instance, had become somewhat of a player. Arnold tried to talk to his long-time school friend once or twice about his ways until one day Arnold gave up. If Sid wanted to change, he'd know who to come look for.

Arnold smiled and looked at Helga, who turned to Arnold and looked at him curiously. "That's pretty sad," Arnold admitted. "I'm sure there are nice guys out there for you that would love you for you."

Helga smiled sadly and then looked back out over the water again. After a few more silent heartbeats she let go of the railing and snorted a quiet laugh at the irony she was faced with. "I already did. But he doesn't like me that way." Then she turned around and started walking. "I'm gonna go buy some books, I'll meet you back here in fifteen."

Helga didn't turn around to see what she had assumed would be there, a confused look on Arnold's face, one hand on the railing, the other against his side, as he stared at Helga walking away from him.

XXX

Helga browsed the paperbacks in silence. Upon entering the book store, she immediately set upon her secret obsession. It was literary drivel, she knew, but she also recognized that ever since those early formative years when she found her mom's stash of romance novels, they had stained the poetess inside her a curious shade of heart like pink, and gave her a romantic fire she could never quench. Not that she wanted to.

She had been browsing for a few moments, looking for a particular series title she wanted to buy, while planning how she'd hide it, when she felt a tap on her shoulder, and whirled around in surprise to see Phoebe.

"Phoebs! Jesus, don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry." Phoebe apologized, and only gave the section Helga stood in front of a curious stare before she looked into her best friends eyes once more. "I saw you come in here and I did want to buy a book or two, and I noticed lately that you've been acting strange this morning. Are you sure everything is all right?"

"Just peachy, Phoebs. No sweat."

"Are you sure?" Phoebe asked, and then started walking to another section. Helga followed closely behind. "Arnold was acting a bit funny when we all got into the car."

"He's Arnold, he's always acting funny somehow." Helga shrugged. The duo walked past a black table in a center aisle upon which sat stacks of teen vampire novels. Two girls younger than Helga and Phoebe were standing nearby looking at one of the books and giggling to each other.

Helga smirked, but didn't pay them too much attention as Phoebe continued. "I don't know Helga. You know you can tell me anything. I know you would never hide anything from me." Phoebe walked into another aisle, slowed down, and then grabbed a book with the title 'True Friends Never Lie.'

Sighing, Helga rolled her eyes, looked around for spies, then hunched down and spoke to Phoebe with a lowered voice. "Fine, okay. When I woke up this morning, I discovered that Arnold had grabbed my chest while he slept, and he was using my breasts as pillows, and I...well kinda liked it, okay? And he woke up to groping me, started apologizing profusely, 'cause hey, he's Arnold, right? And well, I kinda said the wrong thing. I wanted to say something like 'Keep your hands to yourself' or 'Got caught with your hand in the cookie jar', there's a million things I could've said! But no, I just HAD to say this, and I wish I was joking... 'Don't start what you can't finish.' ...I really suck at this kind of thing, Phoebs."

Phoebe giggled. "Helga, nothing is wrong with feeling a bit sexual towards him. _You_ have to break the ice and get him to understand how much you like him and want to be with him. We only have one more year before going off to college, and he may leave to travel around the world without ever hearing your secret. I think Arnold must be attracted to you also since you both were...a bit sexual during the dance last night"

"You saw that?"

"Yeah I did...Gerald did too." Phoebe cradled the book she was looking at in her arms and then resumed walking.

Helga followed her, dumbfounded. "...You're joking, seriously?"

"It's true, Helga. We saw you two dancing last night... And I have to say, you two danced out there like you were lovers, it was very sexual and intimate. _Very_."

"Oh." Helga's cheeks turned pink. "I got a little carried away, I was so glad to be dancing with him I just...well, you know."

"I could tell." Phoebe stopped, giggled, and grew serious. She approached her friend and leaned in to whisper. "But I'm serious Helga, you have to try to make an effort to get closer to him. Before it's too late."

"...I'll try, Phoebs, I just wish it wasn't so hard. My motivation is clear as day, I want to be with him so badly. But it's hard. It's really hard. If I couldn't do it then, what makes me think I can do it now?"

"According to a research paper I saw on Google," Phoebe adjusted her glasses and continued walking until she found another section, and another book that piqued her interest. "They ask the question: Ask yourself why you're still holding onto that person? I feel like you can't tell him because you're scared he might reject you, it seems you've been treated poorly by your family that you decided somewhere in your mind that it's okay to be unhappy. You being tough and saying the opposite, bullying Arnold is you making sure you can never be happy."

Helga let that sink in slowly as she considered her best friend's words. Did that really apply to what she was doing? That she felt she didn't deserve to be happy? That Helga was doing all she could to make sure it could never come to pass? She knew that Arnold would make her happier than anything in the world. Phoebe's logic made a lot of sense.

Helga turned towards the book case. She idly fingered through a few books, and focused on the titles though she didn't bother reading them in her mind. "...I don't even know anymore, Phoebs. It does make sense." Helga sighed, and looked around once more to make sure no one was listening. "Truth is, I don't deserve him, and yet I can't stop wishing he'd be mine. It's like I can't make up my mind half the time. ...Whatever, I guess I need to think about it." Almost like clockwork, Helga's eyes landed upon a title she had been looking for. Without another word, she grabbed the thin poetry book and held it eagerly in her hands. "Let's go, Phoebs. Gotta pay for these, and on top of that, I'm starving"

"Me too besides the boys might be waiting on us"

XXXXXXX

It was noon, with the overhead sun being tamed by bright white and fluffy clouds overhead in a crisp blue sky devoid of the normal air pollution that the group was accustomed too. They were eating at the food court off on one corner of the mall. There were rows of round metal and glass tables, each with a red and white patio umbrella overhead to shield them from the burning sun. Surrounding the mass of tables was a healthy collection of not so healthy fast food chains that one could only ever find in a mall.

Every now and then a rather fat and happy group of birds would descent upon a vacant table, only to take off moments later when a family or some other kind of group would approach.

At one table, roughly in the middle of the food court, Arnold sat across from Helga, trying hard to avoid eye contact with the girl, while Helga did the same. Arnold picked up his French fry and dipped it into ketchup. Try as he might, Arnold found it increasingly difficult to put the incident that morning out of his mind. '_What made me do that?' _ He asked himself out of frustration.

He knew he had a weird dream, about snuggling up to something, a pillow or something of that nature. He didn't mean to grab Helga's chest. He didn't mean to grab her breast in that way. What he found the most frustrating is that after the shock wore off, he realized that the feel of Helga's breasts against his hand and his head, their warmth, their firm nurturing softness, was something that in the recesses of his mind, he knew he'd give anything to experience again.

He had stopped touching his food, so absorbed was he in his thoughts. He didn't even notice Helga reach across the table until he saw her hand over his fries. In an instant she had leaned over the table, stolen a fry, and was already eating it before Arnold could look up. Oh well. It was just one fry. What else could happen?

She took a bite of her sub, chewing thoughtfully as she thought about what Phoebe had said back in the bookstore.

By this time Arnold was fully alert to the situation, and when he saw her hand hover over his French fries once more, he quickly reached for it and grabbed her wrist before she could back out of her attempt. He looked up at her leaving over the table. "Stealing food now, Helga?" He hissed with an annoyed expression.

"What do you mean?" Helga feigned ignorance, and let the fry she held between her fingers fall back into Arnold's fry basket. He let his cool stare linger on Helga's eyes for a moment, then let go of her wrist.

Helga fell back into her seat slowly and favoured her wrist with her other hand. She looked away from Arnold.

"I can't even eat next to you without you trying to steal my food" he said as he bit down down on his French fry. '_Now I remember why I didn't want her to come along, always trying to get on my nerves.' _He growled to himself, annoyed.

"Sorry." Helga said under her breath.

"Hey guys!" Gerald suddenly said from the other table. "There's a theatre over there. He pointed across the center of the mall to what was unmistakably the entrance to a twin screen theatre, complete with a ticket booth. "Looks like they've got the next Evil Twin movie playing, let's go see it!"

"Oh hell yeah! I'm in. Just don't you two start making out right in front of us, otherwise we'd feel left out and have to follow suit." And then she blushed hard. "...I mean... I'll be back."

Her face red, Helga stood and hurried to the nearby bathroom facility.

"What the heck is her problem?" Gerald asked. Phoebe blushed and Arnold shrugged.

XXXX

The quartet sat in the packed movie theatre as the latest _Evil Twin_ epic, now this time featuring two sets of evil twins, and then a set of evil triplets, broke through the darkness of the theatre and projected onto the screen untold horrors that only a horror movie with a questionable budget could accomplish.

The only downside to Gerald's sudden plan? There were only four seats left, in pairs of two, both in different places. There was a pair of seats toward the back, two others in the middle.

After a brief stint of looking at herself in a bathroom mirror, berating herself about her own insolence minutes before, and repeating the same mantra over and over, Helga now sat with her beloved in a darkened theatre. She was beside herself with nervousness. '_Okay, you are NOT going to get on his nerves, you are going to be NICE. Watch the movie, don't steal his popcorn, and don't SAY anything. ...Nothing stupid anyway. ...Mmm...I know what to do...'_

Helga nudged Arnold's foot, and then she leaned over to whisper. "Hey."

A murmur of acknowledgement came from the boy, but he didn't look at her.

"How much you want to bet the redhead dies next? He's lagging pretty far behind."

There was a moment of silence before Arnold gave in to her game. "I don't know, I think Harry might die next, he's wandering off by himself, and you know what that means."

"Sure do. Okay, fine. I'll bet the redhead Jake there, you go with Harry."

"Deal and if I win you can't steal any of my food for the rest of the trip" he said nonchalantly.

A flicker of pain crossed across Helga's features at Arnold's words. But she hid it as best she could; all the while she was thankful for the darkness of the theatre, as it let her hide the pain she felt from Arnold's admonishment. It kept her strong. "You play a hard bargain. All right, it's a deal. If I win, you..." She paused a moment to think. What could she possibly make him do? She had a million different desirable ideas, but knew that would be pushing it. "Rub my feet."

"Okay well...wait what?"

Arnold looked at her. '_Rub her feet? She had me doing this last time when we were kids, she can't be serious.'_

"You heard me. Don't you be modest, I heard around that you give killer foot rubs. Thought it'd be about time to get a taste of that." She giggled at the memory of when they'd been kids, and she was helping him make Lila jealous by pretending to be his girlfriend. Helga looked back at the screen for a moment and reached for her box of milk duds, only to brush against his hand. "...S-Sorry." She stuttered and pulled her hand back.

There was a moment of silence. "It's okay but... I still don't trust you, you know." Helga knew exactly what Arnold was referring to. She had truthfully been reaching for her own candy, but Arnold had no reason to trust that she wasn't brushing against him just to steal his popcorn or the Snowcaps in his pocket. Her face fell, as she tried not to show it. '_I'm such an idiot... And I have no one to blame but myself.' _Wordlessly she thrust her box of milk duds over in Arnold's direction. "Here."

He was taken aback. "Why?"

"Just take them," She whispered pleadingly to him. "I'm not so much in the mood for them now. I'm sorry about the drumstick, and the pumpkin seeds, and the fry, and you know. I know you like them, so here." '_Okay, that's good, you're doing good. Maybe this will help break the ice a bit more.'_

"Well, gosh Helga... thanks" Arnold smiled at her in the darkened theatre, and he took the candy from her.

The two sat in silence once more, watching the movie. After a few moments of silence Helga felt Arnold shifting in his seat, then after a few more moments felt something by her mouth. She opened her mouth to say something, but instead she tasted the delightful sugar of a snowcap being popped into her mouth.

Helga turned, shocked, to see Arnold smile and wink at her before returning his attention to the movie. She blinked a few times, but smiled genuinely as she chewed on the chocolate candy and looked back at the screen, feeling better already. _'Maybe this will work out after all...'_

Moments later, as Jake was about to give up the search for his best friend Harry, he rounded a corner inside of the dark and insidious abandoned insane asylum and was ambushed by the evil triplets. The redhead's screams were cut off as three sets of claw like hands tore into his ribcage. His last dying breath was to utter the name of his soon to be widow, Rose, before he choked on his own blood, and the triplets set about feasting on his cooling flesh.

XXX

A few hours had past, and the noon sun wasn't so high anymore. The quartet had decided after the movie that while the mall still had some secrets to give up, they really needed to hit the road. So they had stocked up on some snack food, piled into the car, and set out on the open road once more.

This time Helga was driving with her eyes glued to the road even though she was grinning like a kid who had just bought out a candy store. Phoebe sat in the passenger seat with her, silently reading one of the books she had purchased that morning. The boys both sat in the back and looked out the windows, only occasionally making idle chat with each other. They seemed content to just enjoy the view outside of the car. Though occasionally Gerald would look over and Phoebe with a wistful expression on his face.

Arnold, however, had been in an awkward train of thought ever since Jake had been stupid enough to wander around, _alone,_ in an abandoned insane asylum. And thanks to that idiot getting cornered by the evil triplets? And then having the gall to follow that up with his bloody _death! _ Arnold wasn't too happy

'_I still can't believe I lost! Now I have to massage her feet whenever she asks...unless she forgets. Please forget...please forget...' _The boy chanted in his head as the trees swept by outside the moving car.

"Hey man, you okay there? You've been acting pretty antsy for the past while." Gerald remarked, looking over with a concerned eye at his best friend. "What's gotten into you?"

"Oh nothing, nothing at all."

"No way man, I ain't buying that. I know you. In fact, you've been acting weird all morning. What's going on?" Gerald insisted.'

Arnold paused for a moment, and then went for his cell phone as Gerald watched. He then motioned for Gerald to take out his cell phone. "It's nothing Gerald." He smiled. "I think lunch didn't agree with me. I'd just prefer to be _silent_ right now and enjoy the view outside."

Gerald eyed Arnold suspiciously for a second, but then caught on what Arnold was trying to say, and promptly silenced his own phone. Arnold looked up at Helga and Phoebe. The two of them were talking about something. About what? He didn't care, just as long as they were distracted.

Moments later, Gerald got a text:

"**U promise not 2 say anything?"**

"**I live by the bro code."**

"**When I woke up this morning I was using Helga's chest for a pillow." **

Gerald's jaw dropped, nearly dropping his phone. He shook his head to recover from the shock, and then stared at his best friend with wide eyes. He typed back into his phone:

"**U got boob from HELGA? Holy shit man, that's messed up! How'd it feel?"**

This caused Arnold blush. He hunched over his cell phone.

"**Soft, warm, fit in my hand…squishy but firm." **

Whistling silently, Gerald texted him back.

"**UR a bold kid. Wut happened after? I bet she slapped u good!**

"**Thats the funny thing. I think I misheard but...**_**" **_

Arnold blushed and continued typing.

"**She said 'Don't start something u can't finish.'"**

"**O.O Seriously? Holy shit! Then again, u two were dancing real sexy last night, I was beginning to think u guys were secretly sleeping together! Ppl who hate each other do not dance like that, man."**

Reading the text, Arnold thought to himself. "_Then again he IS right, we were dancing a bit too sexual last night, I really can't explain what came over me, dancing so close to her like that...touching her body like that...almost kissing her...and why did I tell that guy I was her boyfriend? It doesn't make sense!_?"

"**I can't explain it because I can't even explain it to myself. Last night I even told some guy she was dancing with that she was my girl. She didn't object to it and when we won our prizes she even announced to everyone that I was her man. I thought she was just doing it to annoy me but now...I just don't know."**

A pause, and then Gerald responded.

"**Whoa. O.O Either I'm missin' something or there's something going on. I don't know man, I never thought I'd say this but I think she's got a thing for ya. Sometimes I catch her sending you these lovey-dovey looks when ur not looking. Always thought it was the trick of the light, but whoa."**

Arnold could feel his heart pound in his chest. He could feel a strange feeling, somewhat like butterflies, inside of his stomach. He shook his head to regain his senses.

"**So...u catch her..staring at me?"**

Arnold looked up and saw Helga's eyes staring at him through the drivers mirror, upon making eye contact though, she quickly reverted her eyes back at the road.

"**No..no...does she?"**

"**I don't know Gerald, I'm still not sure I mean, if she does then...that would make sense wouldn't it? She's been picking on me for years. It would kind of be like a boy picking on the girl..."**

_Wait...it would wouldn't it?_ Arnold continued.

"**A boy picking on a girl he likes?"**

"**That does happen, man. And come to think of it, she DOES pay the most attention 2 u, even if it's pickin' on ya. I don't know, maybe she's just tryin' 2 hide it 'cause she's Helga, u know? Iron fist, big bad wolf?"**

"**Yeah maybe your right and if she does like me then...what should I do?"**

"**Well I ain't no love expert, but ur gonna have to think hard and carefully about it before comin' out with it. Take it slow and see what happens. I mean Helga G. Pataki is sure a she-devil, but she's still a girl. And she's my girl's best friend, so it'd be best if you keep it low until u know for sure how ya feel. In the meantime, as Phoebe tells me, just be patient with her. It's all u can do, man."**

"**When have u decided to take my job as the advice giver?"**

"**XD When u need it for yourself, man. 'Cause someone's gotta do it when u can't. Besides, you're my best friend Arnold, just looking out for u."**

Both jumped when they heard Helga's voice yell out "OKAY you chuckleheads stop writing messages about me!"

XXX

Later that night found the group parked over on the shoulder of the road. Surrounding them was open farm land for miles with nothing but silence and no one in sight. It was a beautiful night with a cool breeze and so many stars in the sky. You could see the spiral arm of the milky way galaxy if you looked hard enough, and if you listened to the silence, you could also hear the electric hum of high voltage power lines that sat overhead and farther off the side of the road. They were the tallest structures for miles.

Gerald and Phoebe sat in the backseat of the car. The couple were cuddled together, with Phoebe wrapped up in Gerald's arms as the two looked out through the sun roof.

Helga meanwhile, sat on the hood of the car and stared up on wonder at the thousand or so points of light that dotted the sky and twinkled back at her.

Arnold was walking around to stretch his legs. Every now and then he stopped to look around. He let the air into his lungs in slow breaths. The sweet smell of grass and whatever was growing in the field beside them was a pleasant change of pace. Sometimes he looked up at the stars in the sky, and all at once felt miniscule, yet the stars seemed comforting. It was the perfect spot to stand alone, and reflect on all of the events of that day that had been bothering him.

"_Does she like me? And if so...why would she spend years hiding it? It doesn't make sense...then again she did kiss me on top of the Future Tech Industries building. She told me it was the heat of the moment so maybe...she lied?" _

He remembered her words..._"Who else do you think has been stalking you night and day, building shrines to you in a closet, filling volumes of books with poems about you?"_

Stalking, shrines...and poems?

"_I __love__ you Arnold, I've always loved you, ever since I first laid eyes on your stupid football head!"_

"_No...she did all of that to help me, and confessed really passionately. ...It really wasn't the heat of the moment, was it? That's love bordering on obsession."_

"Hey Arnold." Helga suddenly said, breaking his train of thought as the voice being replayed in his head got replaced with the real thing?

"Huh?" Arnold looked at her slightly dumbfounded as his thoughts flittered away.

"Look." She pointed around them, and giggled. "Fireflies. Right here in the middle of nowhere."

There were a few fireflies hovering around, lighting up periodically with their familiar greenish light, as they went about their buggy business. The group hadn't noticed it earlier, but now that they did, there was no turning back. It was a sight that, Arnold had to admit, took him back to their youth, when they used to chase the fireflies in Tina Park.

It was welcome and comforting, and altogether beautiful.

One curious firefly landed on Helga's nose, and she looked at it cross-eyed before gently letting it crawl onto her index finger.

Arnold chuckled as he watched Helga play with the little bug and let it crawl around on her hand. Then another two landed on her ear lobes. These two fireflies were a little more active, and made it look like Helga had glowing ear rings on. "I think they're attracted to you."

"Looks like it." Helga giggled. Two more landed on her head. Their greenish light made it look like she was wearing glowing hair clips.

Another landed on Arnold's head, right on his little hat, while another landed on his nose. Arnold laughed at the sensation of the little bug's legs crawling across his nose. Arnold laughed, and then moved to sit on the hood next to Helga. But as he did so, the fireflies panicked and flew way.

"Aww, you scared them away." She laughed, patting his chest. "I guess they thought 'Whoa, that human's got a weird head! Fly away!"

"Ha ha good one Helga."

"Thank you thank you, I'm here all week." Helga bowed her upper body before snickering. Then she gathered up some courage, and sat a little closer to Arnold. But not too close. "...Um, well, nice night, isn't it?"

"Yeah it is, I remember camping with grandma and Gerald then you Phoebe and your father came."

"Oh yeah, I remember that too." Helga looked up at the stars. "...That was a pretty crazy time, wasn't it?" _And our marshmallows got stuck together as we were roasting them... Ah, what good times..._

"It's been one heck of a ride now that I think about it, with all of our a dangers and of course finding my parents in the jungle, I still wonder how the heck did we find out where El Corazon was located at. Not to mention finding a way out of the village by using the secret passageway."

"Well...um..." A blush covered her face. "...I know how."

"Really? How?"

Somewhere in the base of Helga's heart she felt a little courage. It wasn't enough to proclaim anything from the rooftops. But all the same, it allowed her enough meekness to say softly. "It was...it was...me, okay? It was me."

"What?" Arnold's jaw almost dropped. '_She helped my family? Why?' _"Why Helga? There was nothing in it for you so why'd you help me?"

That question was enough to light a fire in Helga's heart. She looked at Arnold. This was an opportunity. She would not waste it, even though her stomach was twisting in knots. "Of course there was something in it for me! ...Helping you. Making you happy..." She got off the car and turned turning away from Arnold. She hugged her arms close to her stomach and sighed. "And even if there wasn't anything in it for me, I don't care. I'm not heartless. I would never just...walk away from something like that."

"Well that was really nice of you Helga, I'm glad you helped us I..." Helga's eyes widened when she saw Arnold step in front of her, approach her, then felt his arms around her. She lost her breath in Arnold's warmth as he gave her a hug, just like he did whenever she did something nice for him many times before.

"Thank you Helga."

'_Oh Arnold... My love, how I longed so much to be in your arms again...' _ Instead of pulling away, she hugged back, breathing a soft sigh. "...You're welcome."

Arnold couldn't help but notice how Helga's own warmth seemed to calm his nerves. '_This...feels really nice, hugging her like this.' _He closed his eyes and inhaled her scent. Then he noticed something about the pleasant feminine perfume that entered his nose.

"You smell like the perfume I told you I like." Curiosity got the better of Arnold and he put his nose by her neck. He took another deep breath.

The feeling of his breath against her neck sent a jolt of pleasure through Helga's core, and she suppressed a shiver. It took all of her strength not to swoon. "...Yeah, I bought it earlier today." Helga managed to keep her voice steady. She had to close her eyes in concentration.

"It really suits you." Arnold complimented. A soft gasp escaped Helga before she could fight it back. For Her, Arnold's words were not just compliments. They were seduction. They were sex. It was all getting to be too much, she had to get away. But she was too weak willed to move. "_Arnold..._" _Oh God I'm losing it, I'm really losing it. This isn't good... _

"Yes Helga?" Arnold was still holding her in a lose hug.

Helga opened her eyes and found herself staring into subdued blackness of Arnold's pupils. She could swear the stars were reflecting off of them. Or maybe it was just the dim light of the car headlights near them; they were a bit shadowed, but still clear. She didn't care. It didn't matter. Only the feeling, Arnold's words, and his presence, were what mattered.

Her lips trembled as her gaze fell to his lips, then she looked back into his eyes. As if attracted by some gravitational pull, from the blood in her veins, she moved her head closer to Arnold. Helga's heart pounded, and she tightened her grip on him a bit for support and then leaned up towards him. A fleeting thought in Helga's mind noted how funny it was that he was taller than her now. But she was too drunk on his presence, his enveloping form, for that to matter. She wanted to melt.

"I..." Helga uttered in a shaky voice, their lips barely a couple inches apart. She closed her eyes. '_I have to kiss him, I have to kiss him...I can't take it anymore...'_ "...I... lov"

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNKKK!

"AH!" They both yelled out and whipped their heads over to the driver side of the car.

"Sorry, guys!" Gerald called from the car as he poked his head up through the sun roof. "Sorry! My foot slipped and hit the horn!"

There was a brief moment of silence as Gerald struggled to move around inside the car. Arnold could only grin through the blush on his cheeks. "Oh it's okay Gerald." He turned back to Helga. "What is it you wanted to say?"

Helga looked back at Arnold. "Um..." '_Damn it! The moment's gone... Okay, okay, quick, make a save...'_ "I...uh... just wanted to say...thanks, you know...the perfume and all. I uh...like it too, you know, it uh, smells nice." She blushed hard. '_Nice going, idiot.'_

"oh...okay" Arnold hadn't let go of Helga yet. There was a frown in his features. It didn't escape Helga's notice.

'_Is it me or...did he sound disappointed? No way, it's all in your head Helga.' _Then in mere moments, Helga realized that Arnold was still holding her loosely. And the bully Helga stalked out once more to claim her victim. "Yeah I mean, what the HECK are you doing putting your hands on me you animal!" Helga said with emphasis, and pushed herself away from Arnold's arms.

Arnold blushed and ran a hand through his hair. "I-Well-you...well it's not like you say anything before Helga"

"Well I'm saying it now Hair boy, How dare you put your disgusting hands all over me!"

"Disgusting?" Arnold's blush faded. Did he just hear her right?

"That's what I said! I mean...ugh, just...don't do that again!"

"If you really didn't want me to, all you had to do was say so."

"I'm saying so NOW!"

Arnold tried to remain calm. But Helga had already set about to tear down his defences, with a well placed and painful finger to his chest. He held out his hands. "That doesn't make sense. If you didn't want me to do that, you just had to say so all the while. I didn't know, okay?"

"You SHOULD have known!" Helga yelled back. Arnold narrowed his eyes at Helga and turned away from her.

"Um, guys?" Gerald said from the car, poking his head out again.

Arnold shook his head. "Why do you like doing this Helga? You know you're a great piece of work always being contradicting."

"I'm contradicting?"

"Yes you are"

"How so Geek bait?"

"Your hot then your cold Helga, every time I try to be nice to you, you end up pushing me away."

"I don't NEED you to be nice to me hairboy!"

Arnold turned back around and met Helga's cool stare with his own. "I'm nice to you because I want to!" He finally exclaimed with a raised voice.

"That's your problem see what niceness gets you."

"Hey guys" Gerald said again.

But Arnold didn't hear Gerald. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're TOO DAMN NICE! That is your problem! Nice gets you NOTHING! Nice guys finish last!"

Arnold laughed and looked away. He could feel his calm demeanour snapping totally. He looked away from Helga, clenched his fist, and then said with a raising voice until he was yelling. "Why does me being nice have to be such a big CONSPIRACY WITH YOU?"

Helga stepped back a bit, but then resumed her assault. "Because you can't trust ANYONE! Everyone is out to get people, people are all nice, it's a stupid act just to get close and close and then just stab you in the back!"

Arnold tried to collect his thoughts. That was always difficult with Helga. But finally he found some coherence amongst the boiling temperature of his blood. He sighed and held a hand to his forehead. "Helga. That's... That's not true. There are plenty of nice people in the world."

"Well whoop-dee-fucking-doo!"

"Guys!" Gerald cried, but they ignored him. By this time Phoebe was also looking out from the sunroof, concern spread across her face, and behind her glasses.

Arnold looked back at Helga. "Why do you have to be so damn difficult?'

"Why do you have to be so damn nosey? Mind your own damn business!"

Without warning, Arnold was in Helga's face. "You know what Helga, whatever! I'm fucking done fighting with you! Okay!" He yelled. Then without another word, he stalked over to his side of the car, opened the door, got his MP3 player, slammed the door, and then stalked off parallel with the road, and kept going.

Helga watched on as her beloved stalked off into the distance. The image burned into her eyes, of Arnold walking off into the night, bad thoughts about her circling through his head in a fierce pace. She was responsible for this state Arnold was in. This... This was all her fault... Fingertips met trembling lips as tears blurred Arnold from her vision.

Helga tried to hold a finger to her lips, but found it difficult, she couldn't stop trembling. "Fine." She whispered, and then found her voice. "Fine then! I don't fucking need this either okay! Stay out of my sight!" Helga yelled, then buried her lips into her knuckles.

Behind her, Gerald and Phoebe looked at each other, but neither could say a word.

As Arnold walked off towards the distance, to just find a place to sit and calm down, he flipped on his iWood and the sound of a jazz instrumental flowed into his ears. All he wanted to do was let it drown out the silence all around him. But there were two questions burning in his head that he couldn't silence. Questions he didn't want to silence...

"_Why does she always do this?"_

"_Why do I always have to do this?"_


	5. Vancouver Fun

**Road Trip**

**Chapter 5**

**Vancouver Fun**

"We're almost there, gang!" Gerald announced as they drove by a sign that advertised the Canadian border was a mere three miles away. "Canada!"

Met with silence, Gerald checked the rear-view mirror to see his girlfriend and Helga sitting silently. Phoebe was engrossed in a book while Helga looked out the window. He sighed at the silence and glanced over to his friend. Gerald had assumed driving duties the entire day, while Arnold co-piloted in the passenger seat next him. It was well into the afternoon, the day after the argument, and the group hadn't spoken much since.

He thought back to what had all started this. Actually, he didn't know exactly what had transpired before the argument. Details aside, he had been paying close attention to Phoebe, when his foot slipped and hit the steering wheel, causing the horn to sound. He looked up just in time to see Arnold and Helga sitting on the hood, both staring at him with wide eyes.

Gerald couldn't get the image out of his mind, of Arnold's arms around Helga, with Arnold looking at him like the two had been caught. He said his apologies, then retreated to the inside of the car to help phoebe out of her awkward position, having royally spoiled the moment between the two of them, not to mention whatever was happening between Arnold and Helga.

The thought of his non-violent and timid friend taming Helga G. Pataki just seemed so out of place. The argument started shortly after that thought, and led to Arnold storming off down the side of the road, while Helga stood there shouting obscenities to him. He hadn't heard most of their words, but he had tried to stop it, to no avail.

But what had shocked him the most wasn't the argument itself. He'd seen plenty of those between the two blondes over the years. It was the quiet sound of Phoebe whispering "oh Helga" as she gently opened the car door and walked over to her friend, where she whispered soothingly into Helga's ear, until the slightly taller girl turned around and embraced Phoebe.

Gerald still couldn't believe it. After that fight, the most venomous bully he had ever known was visibly trembling as she cried into his girlfriend's shoulder.

Phoebe let Helga's tears dry before coercing her into the car, then they drove slowly to Arnold, and Phoebe pleaded with him to do the same. They stayed at a Motel 6 a couple miles farther down the road, and after a night of listening to Arnold ramble about how much he hated Helga, Gerald found the relative calm of the car to be welcome.

It was getting old however. So he was relieved when out of the corner of his eye he saw Helga finally looking somewhere else other than the window. From his vantage point, he could see how she was concentrating on the back of Arnold's head. Her eyes seemed to convey softness. He averted his eyes to the road ahead before Helga could notice his stare. Gerald had to hand it to Helga. The girl could surprise him when she really wanted to.

In fact it was Helga who decided to break the silence as she spoke up to no one in particular. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm definitely going on the Hell's Gate Airtram when we get there. Awesome views and going on North America's only descending gondola? Hell yeah!"

"That does sound like fun, Helga! I'd love to go the Vancouver Aquarium." Phoebe chimed in and sat her book in her lap.

"Hey why not, that'd be cool too. I hear they have Belugas there!"

Gerald smiled. This was a welcome change. "All right, ladies, glad to hear the excitement! But before we go anywhere we need to find our hotel first."

"I concur Gerald."

"Hey babe, do you want to room with me tonight?"

"NO!" Both blondes shouted.

Gerald looked at Arnold in surprise, and then looked back out over the road. "Damn...can't you both just kiss and make up so I can be with my girl?"

"Can't you keep Jabba in his Hut for five minutes?" Helga asked, then crossed her arms and leaned back in the seat.

Phoebe turned bright red. Even Arnold snickered at Helga's embarrassing outburst.

"Don't think so! Starting now, you two are going to like each other and get along!"

"No. Starting now you two are going to have to learn to sleep in different rooms for a change."

"Helga..."

"Oh please don't tell me you agree with him Phoebe."

"Well I kind of do."

"You know what? Fine. You guys win. I give up! Football Head, we'll hook up, we can screw in our own room and actually do them a favour for once."

"Helga!" Phoebe cried in shock.

"What? I thought you guys wanted to be able to share a room so you can screw with no obstacles."

"KNOCK IT OFF HELGA!" Arnold shouted feeling his whole entire body turn red.

Everyone fell silent at Arnold's sudden outburst.

"'Knock it off Helga!'" Helga mocked in a high voice, and then looked out the window. "'I can't take it 'cause I'm soooo hard now and I might just burst!'"

"Dude, knock it off..." Gerald glanced angrily into the rear-view mirror at the woman who was successfully getting under his skin. He was remembering why all that time he had never really liked Helga.

"Okay, okay, fine, all joking aside, forget it Geraldo. We gave in to your wants and needs all through this trip. Phoebs is rooming with me and that's THAT!"

Gerald wanted so much to growl, he wanted so much to stop the car and kick Helga's ass right then and there. His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly for control, and a tense silence fell upon the group in the car until he heard Arnold breathe out a quiet but long breath. "Helga, let them share a room."

"WHAT?" Came Helga's started voice from behind.

"Gerald and Phoebe never get any time alone back in Hillwood because Gerald has too many family members at home, Phoebe's parents are strict when it comes to them being together. They both invited us to this trip...they didn't have to but they did so I guess we should, try to get along and share a room and, if anything I could always sleep on the floor."

"You were always such a saint, Football Head." Helga crossed her arms again. "Okay, you know what, fine. You take the bed. I'll sleep in the bathtub. Can't have you catching a cold if you sleep on the floor. Oh, wait! I know! We can try to get a room with two beds! That'd be ideal."

"Um, Helga, about that..." Phoebe began, her face sympathetic to her friend over the hell she was about to unleash.

Helga looked at Phoebe and her eyes pleaded with her. "Oh no, Phoebs, don't finish that sentence..."

"...A lot of the rooms were either, booked or far from our price range." Phoebe admitted and she smiled sheepishly. "We'll each have a room with one bed. ...Sorry."

Helga just sighed and put her head on her knees. "...It could be worse. I could be rooming with one of the other boys from school. Hate to say it but, Arnoldo, you're the only gay guy in our group. So I know you won't do anything to me."

"...Gee...thanks..." Arnold said sarcastically.

"Don't mention it."

"Trust me; no guy would do anything to you." Gerald heard Arnold, and laughed inwardly. That was a pretty low insult for Arnold to say. It seemed to take the edge off of the angry thoughts in Gerald's own head. He smiled slightly. Besides, Helga deserved it. Didn't she?

Across the seat, Arnold sighed and looked out his window. _Why should I keep being nice and letting her get away with things. She won't stop hurting me._

Behind him, Helga was still reeling at Arnold's insult. It made her dizzy. It made her heart hurt. So it took a moment for her to catch her wits again. She looked out the window and whispered to herself. "I know."

Phoebe sighed. She'd had enough of this. She rubbed her temples. "Okay, look. You two need to stop acting like children." Arnold and Helga both turned in their seats to look at Phoebe. Both seemed astonished. "What happened last night was a nasty argument and wasn't fun, I know. But we are on vacation and we are going to have fun, and I will not have you two fighting like cats and dogs and ruining things for all of us. Now please, try to be civil with one another. If not for your sakes, then for Gerald and myself."

"But-" Came Arnold's attempt at a rebuttal.

But Phoebe wouldn't let him continue. "No. No buts. You two stop this and start acting civil. It's not that hard. First off, Helga, apologize."

"I don't have to apologize for any-"

"I said _apologize_." The words seized up in Helga's mouth as it hung open mid sentence. Her petite Japanese friend from Kentucky looked very serious. Phoebe was also one of the only people whose eyes could truly pierce Helga's armour, right through into her vulnerable soul, like she was doing right then.

Gulping, and feeling as if she were under the mercy of a tiger, Helga sighed. It was better to get this over with, or else she would disappoint Phoebe, and Helga knew she couldn't take much of that. "Okay, okay, you're right. I'm sorry guys. ...And, Arnold, I'm sorry about last night." '_There goes my pride. Lovely! Now I'm just admitting he's right. ...And he is right. That's the problem!' _ "...I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. Look, it's not easy for me, but I'll try to put things aside so we can all have fun. So... truce?"

"A truce from you is like shaking hands with the devil... OW!" he felt a painful punch on his arm, turning to see it was…Phoebe?

"Apologize!"

Arnold sighed and turned around in his chair to look at the two Girls. "Okay I'm sorry, she just gets on my nerves and" turning his attention to Helga. "It's not like me to be this way but sometimes I can't help it because you love getting under my skin so just for this trip I'll call truce, but that means you can't break it just because you want to get your way like you always-"

"Arnold..." Gerald admonished him.

Arnold eyed Gerald, and then shook his head and sighed in defeat. "Anyway…truce." He held out his hand to shake hers.

"Truce." Helga shook his hand.

"Good. No more fighting, you two." Gerald said.

"Yes daddy."

"Helga." Phoebe poked her warningly in the side.

"Sorry mommy."

"Well than as your father, keep quiet, we're almost there and Arnold?"

"Yeah?"

"Stop with your pouting"

Arnold simply shrugged in defeat and looked out the window. "Yes father."

X X X

A few hours later, the group drove into Vancouver after having no problems crossing the Canadian border, and a quick stop at a currency exchange. The car had descended into silence again, but both Gerald and Phoebe found that the silence was preferable to the alternative. Unfortunately.

They were booked at a Holiday Inn Express, with two rooms side by side. After checking in, they all agreed to get settled in and have room service for dinner, and then they'd go to the Vancouver Look Out to see the lights of the city at night.

Helga and Arnold left Phoebe and Gerald at their hotel room door, before entering their own room to begin unpacking

_Okay, I can do this...I made a promise to Phoebe and we're going to get along._ Helga looked up, and cleared her throat to get Arnold's attention as he was unpacking

Arnold looked over at her. "What?"

His green eyed stare froze her heart, and she could barely speak, but she managed. "Hey. I'm getting room service now, 'cause I'm starving. What do you want?"

"Oh... Well I could go some for pepperoni pizza and a yahoo soda."

Arnold's gaze softened and Helga's heart breathed a sigh of relief. There was a possibility this truce would work out after all.

"I wonder if they even have Yahoo soda here..." She wondered aloud as she picked up the hotel services booklet and thumbed through the pages. She then picked up the phone, and fingered the room service button. After a moment, Arnold could hear a faint voice come from the handset in Helga's hand. "...Yeah, hello. This is room 322. Hi. I'd like to order a personal pepperoni pizza, some chicken teriyaki, and...do you guys have Yahoo soda? ...You do! Okay, then we'll have two of those. ...Hmm, chocolate cake, bring two slices. Kay, thanks." She hung the phone up and plopped onto the bed, then resumed looking over the guest book. '_Least it's a Queen-sized bed. ...Damn, now I can't get close in my sleep. Oh well, least it'll help a bit.' _ Helga thought to herself, almost forgetting the last day's worth of spat she'd had with Arnold.

She sat the booklet on the nightstand, and then took the TV remote. The flat screen TV blinked to life, right to the on-screen guide, and as soon as Helga saw that it offered free movies on demand, a smile washed across her face. "Hey, look. We can pick movies on this thing."

_Of course we can…that's what comes with the hotel. _Arnold thought sarcastically, but then frowned as he shook his head from those thoughts_. No we promised Phoebe. We agreed on a truce. _Those thoughts didn't stop the years worth of torture induced anger from rearing itself in his mind. Truce or no. He couldn't ignore the fact that he was very angry with Helga, and had no idea how he could survive this.

Unlike all the days and years before, he could tolerate Helga enough without feeling like throttling her. It wasn't until this trip actually that he'd ever given a thought to outright punching Helga as payback for making his life miserable. He never gave a thought to actually hating her. Until now. But... He didn't understand why.

Sometimes he even found himself wishing he never offered her his umbrella all those years ago. She seemed so lost then, so down, like how he was feeling deep down at the time. Had he known that she would turn out to be a bratty little hellion, would he have reconsidered the umbrella, and days later, the graham crackers? Arnold sighed. But a truce was still a truce. He turned to Helga, with mock curiosity. "Oh really?"

But Arnold hid his deceiving look poorly, and Helga picked up on it easy enough. '_Damn it. I can't do ANYTHING right. Of course I can't. Way to go you stupid little bitch. Way to fucking go. Thanks to you all you're doing is striking anger. You don't deserve him. You can try to be nice, but he'll just act hostile, like you always do. You deserve it, you know. You have NO right to be upset, you bitch. It's your own fault.' _ She closed her eyes and looked away from the TV. "...Yes really. So if you want to watch something, I don't care either way." She tossed the remote aside, on the bed towards Arnold, then got up and walked to her luggage.

Arnold watched Helga's reaction and frowned. Regardless of his anger towards her, something about her reaction, something about the look in her eyes, got him in the gut. She was angry, but, not at him. He was sure of it. Some of his anger faded and it was replaced with sympathy towards Helga. His features softened. Arnold looked at the remote, and then reached for it.

"Hey Helga. You know, there is this show I've always wanted to see." Arnold started as he changed through the channels. "It's called Dinosaurs and it was suppose to be a kids show but of course this was in the 90's and the censors used to let programs get away with a little more cursing or some innuendo than they do now. The baby is actually voiced by the same voice actor who plays Elmo."

Helga looked over to Arnold, who patted on the other side for Helga to sit down.

'_What the hell? He's supposed to be mad at me! ...What am I saying, he's Arnold, he doesn't stay mad for very long. ...And yet all I do is bring it back again. Okay, okay girl, take this opportunity, and be nice.' _Helga allowed herself to smile, just a little. "That's pretty messed up."

"Well it's almost ending but at least you get to see the baby. We could watch _The Notebook_ after that. If you're into crying your eyes out. The ending made me cry and I remember..." Arnold laughed. "Gerald made fun of me for a week about it."

"You saw _The Notebook_? I had no idea you were into chick flicks..." Helga beamed at yet another thing about Arnold she had never known before. All resistance was forgotten in an instant. "...Okay, fine, I saw it too, but only because Olga made me!" '_And I'd be lying if I didn't fantasize about you and I kissing in the rain like that...'_

"Well, normally I don't. But after everyone kept talking about it I ended up seeing it, I liked the whole rain scene." Arnold admitted sheepishly. "I also want to try kissing upside down in the rain like Spider-Man." He laughed. "I guess I'm just a hopeless romantic."

'_Holy shit, I felt the same way...' _Helga's heart skipped a beat. She was forgetting the truce, the anger, and the arguments. It felt good."You sure are all right. ...Guess I can't blame you; they DID make it seem so awesome. So easy."

"Yeah I know. Kissing in the rain sounds good, but it's something to share with someone you love, you know. So basically I would see a few chick flicks but anything like _The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants_ or _The Happy Bunnies_...no."

"I'm definitely with you on that one, oddly enough. Lila and Olga talked me into watching _The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants_. ...And I don't know about you, but all those girls were different sizes and shapes, there is NO way, that a pair of jeans the size they were could fit them. Forget it, it doesn't work that way."

There was a knock at the door and the pair looked up towards the entry way. "Room service!" Someone called on the other side.

"All right, food!" Helga threw a fist in the air in mock triumph, jumped off the bed, and went for the door while grabbing her wallet on the way. Helga opened the door happily, to a gray haired man with a food cart. There were four covered but appetizing looking plates, along with two yahoo sodas.

She stepped aside for the man to wheel the cart in. The man removed the plate covers for her, and Helga's eyes lit up at the sight of the food. "Here you go, Miss. Will that be all?"

"Yep." Helga said while counting out a tip that she then handed over.

"Thank you Miss, have a nice night." The server pocketed the tip, nodded to Helga, and then exited the room.

Arnold smiled as Helga wheeled the food out into the open. He picked up his plate, took a slice of his pizza along with a soda and then reclined back in the bed to watch the movie that had just started. "Ever watch _WALL-E_? I think it's an awesome movie."

Helga snorted. "Are you kidding me? It's one of the best movies I've ever seen! ...And I don't say that often. ...And you know, don't tell anyone I said that. I won't lie, I love that movie. WALL-E is adorable and EVE kicks ass."

"Oh good then it's on right now."

"All right, let's watch it then."

As they watched, Arnold glanced over at Helga. He had always thought of Helga to be sort of uncultured; A tough girl with an equally tough attitude. So he was surprised when Helga opted for chopsticks instead of a fork. She picked up a piece of chicken like a pro, then caught his stare and looked at him. They looked at each other for a brief moment, and then Helga smiled as she resumed watching the movie, and Arnold did the same.

X X X

After _WALL-E, _and after their plates had been emptied of everything but crumbs and teriyaki sauce, the two sat on opposite sides of the bed. Not too close, but not on the edge of the bed either. They had gone back to the on demand movie selection and decided to watch _Homeward Bound _because they both liked it, and it was one of the first movies to pop up on the screen as a 'suggested title.'

Arnold watched the credits start to roll, and then glanced towards Helga. "You never get tired of the classics, I'm glad they played _Homeward Bound_, I love this movie but I wonder how long it took to make it since it's hard to train the animals to do certain moves."

Helga rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding? I got this movie trivia down. They get trained professionals, and work for days and weeks to get the dogs and other animals to do certain things. Given that, who knows...it'd be worth looking up. But the mountain lion scenes? Now that was all real."

Before Arnold could respond, there was a loud knock at their door.

"Hey guys!" Gerald called from the other side of the door. "You girls ready? We're goin' to the look out! It's dark out now and it's a great time to go, to see the city all lit up and the mountains too!"

"You still want to go?" Helga took her hair out of her ponytail, fluffing it a bit from its previous confines.

Arnold smiled back. "Sure, let's go."

"We'll be right out,_ daddy_!" Helga yelled back.

Gerald laughed. "Okay, kids! Be good now! We'll meet you downstairs."

X X X

An hour later found Arnold looking through the viewfinder of his camera. All round them, spread out and crisp in the night air, was an incredible panoramic of the Vancouver skyline with the majestic North Shore Mountains beyond that. They were at the lookout point in downtown Vancouver. Everything was lit up and it in the night sky.

The group was in the middle of taking pictures of each other. "Hey! Hey man, me next!" Gerald waved to Arnold, and made the silliest face he could muster with the city in the background.

"Gerald..." Arnold chuckled, taking a photo.

Phoebe came up next to Gerald, who watched as she pulled down her lower eyelids and stuck her tongue out. Gerald laughed as he mimicked her.

"Crazy daisies." Helga giggled, shaking her head.

"Hey take one of me and Phoebe" Gerald said, wanting to have a couple's photo with her.

Helga shrugged and stepping the side. "Whatever floats your boat." She watched as Gerald and Phoebe gave a sweet, romantic pose, cheek to cheek. The blonde girl couldn't help but feel a spark of envy. No, she wasn't jealous of either of them, God no. She was jealous of what they had. She was very happy for them, whole heartedly. But it also came to remind her just how much she wanted to share that joy with her beloved. She looked down and away, and chewed on her lower lip. The sight made the dull pain in her heart worse.

She knew what would quench that thirst. But she knew unless she shaped up, it just wouldn't happen. All she was doing was driving him away. It hurt. Really hurt. And she had no one to blame but herself. This game of charades, this self imposed facade of hers to hide what she really was from her enemies, and from Arnold, just couldn't go on. It had to stop. Helga the bully, Helga the firebrand tough girl, born from a plate of preschool graham crackers, had to die. She had to do something if she wanted to be with him.

Looking at Gerald and Phoebe, she wanted to have that romance with Arnold more than ever now. She was seventeen, they had one last year of high school to go, and then it was off to college. Who knew where he would go for college, she sure didn't know. She would regret it if she never told him how she truly felt. If that happened and she never saw him, ever again, how would she survive?

Helga approached the railing of the lookout, and leaned into it while she focused on the foreign lights of the unfamiliar but welcoming city of Vancouver. She sighed. Would her soul die, leaving the empty and crumbling shell of a girl that nobody liked? She'd asked herself that to her foggy reflection in the bathroom mirror countless times before. She never liked the answers she got.

'_I have to do something... I can't go on like this. I want, I need Arnold so much... But if I keep this up I'll never tell him how I really feel. I don't deserve him, but I can't just let him go. ...What do I do...'_

Arnold went for another picture of the happy and very photogenic couple, who made another pose for him as they laughed and stole kisses from each other's cheeks. But something else caught Arnold's attention instead. In the corner they had occupied, Helga was looking out over the city of Vancouver. He could see her face in profile, and what he saw there, made his heart ache.

She had a very perceptible frown, and a very thought filled expression in her eyes. Something was troubling her, he knew. For all the years he had known Helga, he was familiar with her insults and her bluster, but he also knew she had a softer side. Helga wasn't just a dumb bully. Her antics hid an agenda. They weren't just empty actions. She was intelligent, and well, very cute, in her own way. The way the wind blew around her golden blonde hair sent pangs on sympathy through Arnold's heart.

Suddenly he didn't want this stupid truce anymore. He wanted something more permanent. He wanted to be Helga's friend. There was something significant about Helga that very moment. It was the most profound pose he had ever seen anyone in. Standing there, filled with worry about something, he didn't know what, looking out over the night life of a city, with only a frown marring one of the most beautiful profiles in a face that he had ever seen. The presence of an adorable ear from underneath her windblown hair just sealed the deal. If only she could see what Arnold saw at that very moment; He knew what he had to do.

He pretended to take a picture of Gerald and Phoebe. He focused the camera on Helga, setting up to take an image of Helga that he had never seen before, but one he wanted to remember. _'What are you thinking about, Helga?'_

Quickly he snapped a picture of her, and then another of Gerald and Phoebe, making it seem like he was taking two shots of them. It snapped Helga out of her trance, and she looked towards the rest of the group.

"All right!" Gerald took the camera, oblivious to what had happened. "Who wants to be next? Anyone?"

Phoebe took the Camera from Gerald "Helga why don't you take a picture of yourself, come on you know Olga is going to want some pictures of you."

"Whatever, suit yourself Phoebs." Helga tried to smile for Phoebe, but Arnold could tell it was a ruse. And he suddenly decided he wanted to see Helga's smile again, no matter what it took. As Helga stood in front of Phoebe and the camera, right then he got an idea. When Phoebe held the camera up to her eye to take a picture, Arnold quickly stepped behind Helga, stuck his tongue out, and crossed his eyes. She immediately felt his presence and turned around to face him.

SNAP!

"What the hell?" Helga gasped. "What did you do that for?"

"I don't know, I felt like it?" Arnold smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. He had done his part. It was up to Helga now.

He watched Helga's expression to see if it had worked or if he needed to run to save his neck. Helga blinked, and then a small but disarming smile graced her lips. His plan had worked! Very softly, Helga said, "Thank you, Arnold." She then turned around, and willingly posed for Phoebe.

Phoebe snapped another picture then started laughing. "Oh my! Heh heh heh." Helga turned around to see what was so funny, only to encounter another silly face.

"Okay you," Helga furrowed her brow. "Have it your way!" She turned around, rolled her tongue at the camera, and then crossed her eyes.

The next several pictures were of Helga and Arnold trying to outdo each other in the funny face department, until Phoebe admonished them to be serious. This didn't help much. Arnold stood up tall along with Helga, but their faces were 'trying to look serious,' and it was too much for poor phoebe.

She lowered the camera, and rolled her eyes. "One more, and please be serious guys."

"Okay, mom." Helga mocked. Then she folded her arms in front, and smiled slightly at the camera. Arnold stood beside her, and in one very bold move, snaked an arm around her shoulders.

Helga's breath caught at the feeling of Arnold's arm across her upper back, and how his hand gently held her upper arm. Her eyes widened and a soft blush tinted her cheeks at his close presence. But unknown to her, her smile grew ten times and her eyes lit up. Phoebe noticed and before anyone could move an inch, took two quick shots, then lowered the camera.

"All right, you sillies, I'm done."

"My turn!" Helga stepped forward and snatched the camera. She glanced briefly at the photo on the camera display that Phoebe had just taken, and smiled a little. She would have to remind herself to get a copy of that photo.

"Here's one you can take!" Gerald grabbed Arnold in a headlock and noogied him.

"Gerald!"

"That's it, that's it, hold it!" Helga laughed, then took the picture

"I don't think so!" Arnold growled. In one swift move he lifted Gerald up even though Gerald still had him in a headlock.

"OH CR-AP!" Gerald laughed as Helga took another picture. Arnold finally put him down. "Damn I forgot you still know martial arts."

"That's what you get for messing with someone who has a black belt"

"I have a black belt too."

Phoebe blinked in confusion "Really Gerald? I never knew that!"

"Yeah, I bought it at a store." He joked and then winked at his girlfriend, before getting in a position to play fight with Arnold. Rolling his eyes, the blonde boy did the same.

"In this corner, standing at six feet four inches, seven feet if you include the hair, weighing at one hundred and sixty pounds is, Geraldo! And in this corner, standing at six feet two inches, weighing at who knows what is, Football Head!" Helga announced dramatically before snapping another photo.

"Very funny!" Gerald said, snickering.

"Hey why don't I get a name? Football Head is not a real name Helga"

"Okay okay...Arnoldo!"

Gerald looked at Arnold. "She's making it seem like we're cachascanistas, técnicos ,or something."

"Mexican Wrestlers?" Phoebe translated.

"Yeah." Gerald nodded and stood straight. "We sound like a couple of Mexican wrestlers. Then again you were born in San Lorenzo. So it's kinda close."

"_Really_?" Helga seemed shocked, she hadn't known, and this was something she wanted to know. "You were?"

"Ah, well yeah I was, do you remember the temple we went to?"

Helga nodded her head and curiosity gleamed in her eyes.

"I was born in that temple."

"Wow, Arnold, that's..." She was unsure of what to say, but she did smile. "That's really cool. I mean, wow. ...Um, you know, I'm curious, how did that happen?"

Arnold smiled back. '_Well this is new, actually taking an interest in something like that without being mean or critical...' _ "It's a long story, I'll tell you about it sometime."

Helga blushed at Arnold's attention to her, and the fact that he was actually volunteering information about his past to her. She looked down. Did she deserve to hear? "Well, if you want."

"Sure, I'll-"

"Ahem." Gerald said. "Sorry to interrupt, but we should get going, we got a lot to do tomorrow."

"I'll tell you as soon as I whip Gerald's butt."

"Oh really now? I think it's the other way around my friend."

Smirking back at his best friend, Arnold swiftly made an attack pose "Bring it."

After a few silly fights and additional photos of the carnage, the gang headed back to the Hotel, sightseeing along the way.

X X X

Gerald and Phoebe excused themselves to their own room after spending a few moments in Helga and Arnold's room. After the couple left, a soft silence fell between the two of them, punctuated only by the air conditioner under the window, and the sound of a loud, rambunctious child running down the hall with his parents calling after him to slow and be quiet.

Other than small talk like "I'm going to go get changed" or "what side of the bed do you want." Not much was exchanged between them, not much was offered to talk about.

Arnold emerged from the bathroom after brushing his teeth and donning his pyjamas. While he was in the bathroom, Helga had turned off several of the lights, to prepare for bed. The only lights left on were those beside the bed, on the night stands. He stood beside the foot of the bed, and marvelled at the site before him.

Helga was standing to one side of their third story hotel window. The curtains were drawn, so she was peeking through them at the view of the city, in her pink PJ's, and a thoughtful expression on her face. In the dim light of the room, she looked soft and warm. With her hair down and framing her softened features. Her hair was still slightly windblown from their visit to the lookout. Arnold decided it looked good like that. At that moment he had a fleeting fantasy of walking up to Helga and holding her in his arms, with his head resting on her shoulder as they looked out over the city lights, but he quickly dismissed it.

He shook his head, and walked over to Helga, where he stood beside her and peered out to the rapidly emptying streets below them, and the city lights beyond.

"Nice view, isn't it?"

"...Yeah." Helga murmured. She didn't break her gaze at the scene outside, but Arnold's presence still made her feel butterflies. "...Arnold?"

"Yes?"

"...I'm...I'm..." Helga swallowed. '_Do it Helga, this ends tonight. You need this.' _She let out a breath. "I'm sorry."

"Huh? What for?"

"Everything. ...I was being a class-A bitch to you since this whole vacation started and not once did I thank you for inviting me along. I wanted to say I'm sorry about all that. ...And thanks for inviting me along. I don't expect you to forgive me, and that's okay. I don't deserve that. ...I just wanted you to know that."

Arnold sighed. "Helga. You know. I wasn't acting very nice to you...actually I didn't really want you to come." He winced when he saw the reflection of her eyes in the window, and the pain they held. He could see the crestfallen look on her features. He smiled sadly. "But of course I'm...well now I'm glad you got to come along, I mean I would have been here by myself and I'd feel like the third wheel without you. Plus there are times where we are getting along good."

Helga managed a small smile. "...Yeah, we really did. I did enjoy our fun times so far."

"Me too." Arnold agreed.

'_This feels...really good. Apologizing and opening up like this. And he's so close to me!' _Helga caught some of Arnold's reflection in the window as they continued to look out, and smiled a bit more. She gripped the curtain. It was all she could do to resist the temptation to lean into Arnold. "We did have some fun, especially that night at the dance club. ...Honestly, I've never had that much fun at a club before. I...well, what I'm saying is that I had fun dancing with you. Really."

Then in a heartbeat, Arnold stepped away from Helga, and walked towards the bed. "I had fun dancing with you too." He approached the bed, reached for the remote and pressed the power button. The TV blinked to life, and a melody filled the room. It was just the guide channel, but the audio was a slow dance from a classic movie. It was Marilyn Monroe singing _I Want Be Loved by You_.

Helga's eyes widened and her heart began skipping beats. She let go of the curtains and turned around to see Arnold looking at her from the bed. At first he was startled by her sudden movement. But then her eyes met his, and Arnold's stare became curious. _'Arnold,'_ she thought to herself as she almost instinctively walked slowly towards the bed. _'Do you understand that my heart sings this song to you?' _ Something more profound than the two of them was pulling Helga forward, and it was some force stronger than gravity; a warmth that her heart was seeking out, like a candle to keep itself warm from the cold outside. _'You're my candle. My flame. Oh Arnold.'_

As Helga approached Arnold, her heart was pounding so hard that she could hear it.

Arnold listened for a moment to the music, caught the hopeful expression in Helga's eyes, and then smiled warmly at what it was she wanted. He stood up and held his hand out to her. "May I have this dance?"

Helga stopped, and stood there, facing Arnold. Instead of seeing the seventeen year old, she saw the three year old holding out his hand like he was offering her his graham crackers to replace the ones that had been so cruelly stolen from her. But this time, it wasn't graham crackers. It was something else.

Helga took a breath, and then looked up from his hand to his face. She lost herself in the green of Arnold's eyes as she reached out and took his hand wordlessly. She looked at him with curiosity, and allowed herself, just a tinge of adoration. _'Can I be so bold, my love?' _

Helga gently placed her hand on his shoulder while he held her other hand. He noted the slight nervous tremble in her fingers as he put his other hand on her warm waist and they began to slow dance to the song.

'_Oh my God,' _ Helga's mind raced, _'you actually want to dance with me? We're slow dancing to a classic love song? You're dancing with me, like that night at the club...Wow, you're such a good slow dancer! What am I kidding, you're the best slow dancer in the world, Arnold.' _ Needless to say, she was in _heaven_ now. On cloud nine, as they danced together like never before. Her insides warmed up and froze all at once, her heart pounded, her cheeks became tinged with the deepest of pink, and her eyes wandered around before focusing back into his. She felt as if they were the only people in the world. Nothing else mattered. She felt peace, harmony, happiness... She had no control, it was all Arnold's now, but she didn't even care, Helga smiled genuinely with adoration and joy, her eyes seeming to light up with so much love. Her walls were being torn down, and frankly, for once, she was going to damn well enjoy it.

Without another thought, Helga stood closer to Arnold, and rested her head on his chest. It was such a gentle motion, but immediately Arnold felt as if the wind had been knocked out of his lungs, only to be replaced by unimaginable warmth as he gently breathed in. After the sadness she displayed earlier he wanted to make her somewhat happy but after she actually apologized he felt he wanted to show her...

'_Show you what?' _He asked himself inwardly. '_You're not unworthily of forgiveness? Maybe you're a pain in my side sometimes but you deserve to be happy, everyone does. You're the smartest girl I know when it comes to getting your way with things; you've always been there for me whenever one of my girlfriends broke up with me. Sure you play tricks on me but you always did listen to me.' _ He focused on the hair atop Helga's head and felt confused at the warmth, and how good this all felt. _'Helga? What am I to you? I must know.'_

Helga lifted her head away from his chest, and Arnold shivered, but then she placed her arms around his neck, and they looked into each other's eyes.

"Helga?"

"Hm?"

"I'm happy you came with us."

"You know...I'm happy too."

"You really do dance great."

"You're not bad, yourself."

His eyes landed on her lips, and he wondered how soft they were. Helga was smiling, and they were parted slightly. She still had an overbite, but like he had noticed before when they first had to share a bed a few nights ago, it was so unbelievably cute. So much so that he wondered what it would be like to touch those lips with his own. And he knew, that moment, as they stopped dancing and the music hit a crescendo through the TV's tiny speakers, he had to know those lips.

He closed the distance between them effortlessly, and softly, in a feather like touch, his lips were upon hers.

The feeling ran through his entire body making his heart beat in two-step to the music. Her lips were like soft velvet petals, cold at first but then incredibly warm. They sent sparks through Arnold's body. Such incredible feeling, and all he had done to feel that, was press his lips against hers.

'_I can't believe I'm kissing Helga...Her lips feel so...' _ It was then that Arnold realized Helga had been standing still. Panic raced though his mind. He pulled away from her and cleared his throat. His cheeks burned red and he looked away. "I'm... Sorry..."

'_He kissed me...he kissed me...HE KISSED ME!' _ It was the only thing Helga could think of. Her lips tingled like crazy, and she had never felt so warm, so alive. She was way too happy now. Everything seemed to disappear, everything. She was drunk without booze. This feeling was what she longed for, what she had wanted for so long. It had been six years since they last kissed, and now her goal was met, she got to kiss him again. '_It's working... I was nice and he wanted to kiss me!'_

She would've been fine at that point. She had an easy out. The old Helga would accept it and say '_It's okay, Arnold_' then be done with it. This kiss would have held her off. But something was borne of the fire she felt in her heart right then. A desire she had that trumped anything the old Helga would have done. Her love struck heart had plans. She would not back down. She would not run away.

"No." Helga breathed, stepped to him, and brought her hands to his shoulders, up to his neck, and then his cheeks as she gently held his head in her hands. "...Please..." She caught Arnold's eyes in her gaze. '_Hair like tufts of prairie grass, eyes like azure pools that I want to swim in. Arnold. I love you.' _Her eyes were moist and she shook her head. "Don't you dare say you're sorry." And then she leaned up and kissed him again. She wanted more. She let her tongue slip gently between his lips to glide along his teeth. She needed more. So much more.

For a moment Arnold didn't know what to do. He let his jaw loosen and was met with a pleasant surprise as he felt Helga's tongue brush against his own. He let his eyes flutter closed and he tilted his head to let Helga deepen the kiss. As her tongue met his, Arnold remembered all the other times he'd kissed a girl. None of those times were like this. All at once, Helga's kiss was needy yet tender, greedy yet nurturing. It was gentle and warm.

The way her lips lovingly caressed his, if a kiss could speak, were saying '_please?'_ Arnold obliged. Her kiss had brought him to a blissful place. The world around him ceased to matter, and he wrapped his arms around Helga to pull her closer than ever before, in one of the tightest hugs he had ever dared. The girl in his arms moaned into the kiss, and stood on her toes. She wrapped her arms more around Arnold's neck, and he could feel her using him for leverage, as if she was melting in his arms. It all felt wonderful.

An insatiable desire washed across Arnold, and he let go of Helga's lips. He sought out her forehead and pressed his lips into it, and revelled in how warm it was. Helga's excited breaths tickled his neck with warmth, and he trailed kisses down the bridge of her nose, to the very tip. He then kissed her eyebrow, then her other, then over to her temple. Everywhere his lips brushed seemed so electric, so charged with fire.

Helga didn't let go as Arnold gently brushed against her eyelashes, and then let his nose brush through her hair, where he could smell shampoo and skin. He held her there, with his hands gently grasping her pyjamas, as he felt her breath against his collarbone, and her warm lips against his chest, Arnold's heart raced. This feeling he felt, was indescribable. He felt wonderful.

He held her there as the song faded into the distance, only to be replaced by another old melody that he couldn't identify. Helga moved slightly, and Arnold kissed her hair, and then went to kiss her cheek, but then stopped when he realized, through the kiss, he could taste salt. Her eyelash had brushed against his cheek, and if felt wet.

Arnold finally pulled away and looked at Helga's face. Her eyes were closed and there were tears on her cheeks. His heart beat with concern and he lifted a hand to caress Helga's ear. "Did...I...did I hurt you?"

A moment later Helga shook her head "no..." She let go of Arnold and stepped back slightly, letting Arnold's hand fall from her face as she reached up to wipe her eyes. "No...not at all." He noticed her eyes were still brimming with tears, but of joy, and yet sadness at once. A small smile broke out on her face. Silently she came a little closer and leaned up to kiss him once more on the cheek. This time it was gentle, sweet, and full of love. She held the kiss gently. '_I love you so much... Thank you...'_

After prolonging the kiss a few heartbeats more, Helga pulled away and smiled before she sat down on the bed and wiped her tears with her PJ sleeve. She breathed in tears and a shallow sob.

Stunned and not knowing what else to do, Arnold walked into the bathroom. He turned the light on as the door clicked shut, the overhead mercury light flickered to life, and he stood before the sink. He studied his reflection in the mirror.

He had just kissed the very girl whom he'd spent most of his life trying to avoid. His lips had pressed against the lips of the very girl whom insulted him most of the days of his life. The same lips that uttered venom laced tirades against him. He had tasted the tongue of the girl whose darkest words hindered his optimism even on the brightest of days, but yet tasted bittersweet; and somewhere in his mind he thought that wasn't just the yahoo soda.

Arnold had held Helga G. Pataki in his arms, and he didn't want to let go.

He had kissed her lips, her cheeks, her nose, her eyebrows, her eyelashes. He had even tasted her tears. As he looked at himself in the mirror, he realized, the way Helga tasted, the feeling of her skin, and the way she felt in his arms, her scent, all of it, was still with him.

...and he loved it.

-End of Chapter-

Hey everyone. This is Pyrex Shards. The next chapter edit is going to be delayed by a couple of weeks. I will be taking a much needed vacation, my own little series of _road trips_ with some friends of mine, so zero time will be allotted to editing, let alone writing. I was given a lot of freedom on Road Trip, so my work on this story isn't just a proofread. I've been putting my own special blend of unique herbs and spices on this story, rewriting a scene here and adding a little scene there, while I attempt to preserve the unique flow of the storyline. It takes time to finish each chapter because I am not a writer by trade. I am most definitely making this up as I go along. ;)

On behalf of myself and BrokenNintendo, thank you for reading and I apologize in advance for the irregular updates, but they cannot be helped.


	6. More Vancouver Fun

Arnold stayed in the bathroom for what felt like an eternity as he slowly studied his reflection in the mirror. He noticed the peculiar way his lips reflected in the dull artificial light, and upon further investigation with an index finger he realized he had some of Helga's lip gloss smeared on and around his own lips.

He leaned in closer to the mirror and investigated further while he pressed down on the counter top to take some of his weight from his strangely wobbly legs. In the stillness he realized his heart was still beating in a two-step rhythm, still excited from being so close to Helga.

Sighing, he wobbled to the side where he sat on top of the toilet lid, and again leaned against the counter top. The air currents around him changed and he realized his cheeks were warm. Looking across to the full height mirror attached to the door, he first noticed his blush as it contrasted with the skin on his hands.

'_Helga did this to me.'_ Was the thought foremost on his mind as he felt the dying warmth in his cheek with the palm of his hand. He closed his eyes, ran his palm through his hair, and whispered. "Oh man."

He remembered the way Helga gently tilted her head to kiss him that last time. How just before she closed her eyes to steal his kiss, he saw in those brilliant blue eyes memories of all those times she held his shirt collar in her fist, nose to nose with him, ready to strike with 'Old Betsy.' He remembered their demented gleam from that time on April fools when she thought she had the upper hand during the dance.

When her lips pressed against his, he remembered the first time he saw her at Urban Tots, soaking wet from the rain. The helpless look she had when he gave her his graham crackers. Those little moments in the years between then and now, when he thought he saw the true Helga that he had always wondered about.

He hugged himself and let his forehead rest against the counter. He had always known Helga to be cold. Someone you avoided. Everyone at school gave her a wide berth. She had spent a good amount of time in detention. She was the tough slightly boyish girl that kept everyone at arm's length. And when someone dared get too close, they discovered the short end of her temper. He remembered the time in school when she cornered him and punched him in the stomach for something she thought she had heard him say in one of the classes they shared together.

It was another boy in front of him who had made an offhanded and cruel comment about her greasy face. While Helga couldn't help it, the apex of puberty wasn't kind to her looks at the time, the way she had made him feel when she punched his gut, like he was about to puke up his spleen, tempered his thoughts about her up until tonight. She had clasped her hands around his neck, put her head against his chest, and with a simple breath she set his heart on fire.

Arnold continued to sit as his heart settled into a more natural rhythm while his thoughts still swirled through a menagerie of pink and skin, blonde and blue, lavender and perfume, and that image he took of her earlier in the night looking out over the city of Vancouver. _'Why do you have to be such a mystery?' _ He asked the wall and Helga beyond that. He guessed she was probably sitting on the bed and wondering why he was taking so long.

He shook his head and arose slowly until he was sure his legs were stable. Arnold stood in front of the sink and turned it on low, reached for some tissue, and dampened it slightly. He brought it to his lips and slowly massaged the lip gloss away. Once he was sure his lips were clean, he reached for his toothbrush in his hygiene bag.

A little under one foot of dental floss later, Arnold emerged from the bathroom. He turned the corner and expected to see Helga sitting there looking up at him. Instead what he saw was the epitome of serene. While he was in the bathroom, Helga had wiggled her way under her covers, and had probably been waiting patiently for him. She had grabbed one of her pillows and was hugging it to her bosom. From his vantage point, as he stood there watching over her from the corner of the entry way, Arnold could tell from the gentle rise and fall of her body, that she was asleep.

Seeing the sight made a yawn overcome the teen, and Arnold wasted no time obliging it. He tiptoed to Helga's side of the bed and pressed the button on the light beside her. It clicked off, bathing Helga's side in shadow. He looked down at her and smiled awkwardly. Reaching down quietly, he brought the comforter up above her arms.

After gently tucking Helga in, Arnold looked down at her with a blank expression. Funny, if he hadn't seen her crying a mere fifteen or so minutes ago, he would never have known it from slight upturned curve of her lips, as if she was smiling. He shook his head and tiptoed to the other side of the bed, and in a few quiet motions, he joined her under the covers.

With a sigh, Arnold lay on his back with hands under his head. Too his right he could feel Helga's presence, even though it was obvious to him she was there. He noted that, for some reason, it was like he could feel her warmth. He turned his head to the right and looked at her peaceful face.

The light behind him bathed her face in a subdued glow. Even then, with her hair smashed against the pillow, and with all the oils that had built up over the day soaking it into a chaotic mess, it had a radiant glow to it. He couldn't resist the temptation when he noticed a stray lock. With his hand, he gently reached over and ran a finger through her hair to tame the wild strand behind her ear, only pausing briefly to watch for any signs of consciousness.

"Helga?"

He got no response in return.

With newfound bravery, he picked himself up to hover close to Helga's face, where he said in a hushed voice, almost a whisper. "I just want to know what I mean to you. But I fear you'll never tell me. There's more than you're letting on, but, I'm just so confused, about tonight and... Well... Listen, I... "

He watched her for a few more moments, before he sighed and returned to his side of the bed. He turned off the light and the hotel disappeared from his vision.

"Goodnight..."

**Road Trip**

**Chapter 6**

**More Vancouver Fun**

The next morning was a study in extremes. Outside, rain pelted the city of Vancouver. It was an oppressive and cold rain, punctuated by the occasional flash and boom of a thunderstorm that seemed to situate itself lazily over the city, the thunder its complaints that it didn't want to go anywhere.

And although it was raining in the city of Vancouver, British-Columbia, there was a lot of sunshine and happiness within the bathroom of a single unassuming hotel room.

Helga sat in the jetted hot tub with her eyes closed and a content smile on her face. She wasn't much of a bath person, but having a jetted tub was quite a bonus. And with her father being the self-centered sort, the master bath of the Pataki residence got the good tub while Helga got the shower stall in the hallway bathroom. So she decided to take advantage of this opportunity and enjoy the bath while she could.

She sighed in contentment and let herself sink into the bath until her chin barely touched the warm bathwater and her kneecaps broke the surface. Her elbows sank below the soothing warmth, and her blonde hair meandered through the currents of the water like the golden locks of a mermaid, as the jets frothed about her entire body. Helga was in pure bliss. The only thing that could make this more perfect was Arnold in the bath with her. A blush crossed her face at that thought, and she let those fantasies play out in her head while she thought about other things, like the kisses the night before, that replayed in her head over and over.

Since those first scents of consciousness that morning, when she rolled around in bed, yawned, and caught the sight of her beloved sleeping peacefully besides her, Helga could not stop smiling when she realized that despite his odd behaviour after the kiss, Arnold had enough thought to tuck her in. When she quietly got up and tiptoed to the bathroom, then saw her smeared lip gloss glazing her lips, confirming the obvious, it made her smile deepen.

She giggled a little and hugged herself, pressed a few fingers to her lips as she remembered the feeling, cherished it, and whispered, "Embrasse-moi encore Arnold mon amour."

It had happened! Finally! Arnold had kissed her, then she kissed him, which led to a few moments of making out, a lot of pecks that were just as delicious, and then...that sweet kiss she'd given him out of love, and that moment of delight when she realized he was kissing her back! This was all because she had opened up to him, and said she was sorry. Because of that, she was able to wake up next to him as they'd been doing the past few mornings, though this time with a prevalent thought that everything was going to be right as the rain outside. It was amazing!

'_It's official...he's the one. He's the one. I want to wake up next to him in the morning for the rest of my life, and oh my GOD his kisses are wonderful!' _Helga thought in pure bliss. A hiccup escaped her lips, and she laughed. '_Oh Arnold, I'm still drunk from your lips like fine wine, and I want more.'_

She imagined Arnold hovering over her and kissing her once more. Helga imagined him whispering something to her ear, for which she replied in a dramatic Victorian accent. "What's that? Go with you to the prom... and... and marry you? Oh Mr. Shortman," she threw her hands up in the air. "I will and I do! I do so very much! I do!"

Helga giggled, let her arms fall to sink below the depths and let the warm water caress her face, as she blew bubbles out her nose.

X X X

The rays of the morning light finally fell upon Arnold's eyes, and the blond boy rolled onto his stomach. He yawned and stretched as he imagined his entire body sinking into the depths of the mattress, to never be seen or heard from again. His arm reached out to grab another pillow. Once he was sure it was free, and actually a pillow, he brought it to his face and buried his nose in the fabric. The smells within brought him to last night and the scent of Helga's hair as they embraced. He could smell the complex beckoning depths of lavender and an invitingly playful hint of that perfume that she bought on their way to Vancouver.

Arnold inhaled a deep breath, exhaled, and then snuggled into the pillow in a half hearted attempt to allow sleep to claim him. It was only then that he opened his eyes and he realized the only reason he had free reign of the pillow in his arms was because Helga wasn't in bed.

'_Where is she?'_

He sat still for a moment to let the sounds of his surroundings envelop him. Everything seemed dominated by the rain outside the muted shades of the hotel room.

'_Must've gone to breakfast with Phoebe or something. Oh well.'_

Arnold embraced the pillow once more to take in another deep breath of lavender and perfume. Strangely enough, there was something else to the scent, and all his mind could say was Helga. She smelled like, well, a girl. He wanted to pretend it was more than just that. He knew it was Helga by her scent, he wanted to know why, but all he could think was '_woman,' 'Helga,' _and how her scent made his heart feel light as a feather.

But then again that's how it worked. It was instinct, Right?

Last night played slow motion in his head. He remembered turning on the TV and stumbling across that old smooth melody, then the movement to his right as he turned to see Helga approaching him with a hopeful look in her blue eyes. He remembered the way her unsure smile shined when he asked her to dance.

He then remembered their embrace and the way she felt in his arms. He remembered her warmth and the smell of her hair. Then he remembered her kiss, her gentle yet insistent tongue pressing against his, as Helga invited him to share with her, in what may have been the most wonderful moment he had ever experienced. Arnold took another whiff of the pillow in his arms. Had he just unlocked something about Helga G. Pataki that he could wrap his arms around, much like their embrace the night before?

One thing was for certain, the world around him was changing fast. Of all the people he knew, Helga was the only one capable of turning his world upside down. She had that power since preschool; the ability to confuse and confound Arnold's worldview. This time, however, she held his hand while she did so. Like she was taking him on a tour of things he had never imagined possible. Despite the confusion racking his brain, he managed to crack a slight smile. Regardless of how he felt, he wanted to do last night with Helga all over again.

By now though, he realized he was already staring at the wall, his eyes wide open. No chance for sleep.

With a yawn, Arnold spilled out of bed and stood on his own two feet. He looked around once more to verify the hotel room was vacant except for him. He scratched his butt for good measure and yawned, then blinked away the rest of the sleep as he stumbled towards the bathroom.

Unfortunately for Arnold and Helga, he was so focused on relieving himself that very moment he failed to realize that the sounds coming from under the bathroom door were the splashes of someone getting out of a tub, and not the rain outside.

He opened the door wide and stood there for a moment, and then he was instantly sent into a wide-awake stupor the minute he came to focus on the view before him.

Helga was just getting out of the tub and was hunched over it in the process of draining the water. By the time she heard the door open and turned around to see her roommate standing there, it was too late and her towel was still hanging on the rack by the door. She froze with her eyes wide in shock as the situation registered to her...slowly. Arnold was there in the doorway, probably having not known she was in there, while she was standing there, _completely naked_, as she stared at Arnold like a deer caught in headlights. Her mouth hung open.

Across the small bathroom, Arnold's eyes slowly turned downward. He took in the situation and shock entered his mind and his entire body froze in place as he realized then that Helga G. Pataki was standing up facing him...

...while totally nude...

Before Helga could open her mouth to say anything, a sudden yell of "S-Sorry!" was heard before the door slammed shut.

She blinked. Once... Twice... Three times...

Her entire face turned red and she lurched forward to grab the towel off the rack. She then wrapped it quickly around herself and sank down to the floor, where she started to shiver, but not from the cold. _'Oh my god he saw me naked...he saw me naked! HE SAW ME NAKED! Okay, okay, calm down Helga, at least it was Arnold, the only person you'd ever let see you naked and not one of the other boys from school, THANK GOD. ...Arnold saw me naked! Oh my God...'_

Arnold's back was to the door, eyes wide in shock with all the color drained from his face except from a blush that crossed his cheeks. _'I saw her naked…that is so horrible…although…NO! no it was bad, you shouldn't look at someone naked like that…'_

Helga rocked slightly and pressed her knuckles into her lips. '_He saw my chest, and my hips, and my...'_

Arnold's color slowly returned, and he stepped away from the bathroom door and looked at it. '_I... I didn't know she had a body like that…she normally wears clothes that are a bit baggy but…what am I SAYING? It's not gentleman like to think of someone like that.'_

Helga frowned. '_He must think I'm totally gross!'_

Arnold sat at the foot of the bed. _'Still. Does she realize what she has!' _The image was still fresh in his frantic mind. Helga's softly toned and smooth skin, bathed in water droplets that slowly slid down her beautiful though slight hourglass curve, while others collected at the base of her firm and perky breasts. How the water meandered around the grooves of her cute navel, and dampened a tantalizing patch of golden blonde hair atop the dark valley of her... Arnold shook his head. '_Snap out of it!'_

Helga stood up started drying herself off. '_Who am I kidding. Arnold would never want this. I'm not a supermodel or a movie star or a...'_

'_I never realized how gorgeous she is! I mean, not that seeing her naked changes anything because she looked stunning in that dress during the dance. But... Her legs!'_

Helga looked at herself in the fogged mirror while she tied the bathrobe gently around her form. _'Ugh... I'm hideous...'_

Arnold twiddled his thumbs as he stared at the wall. _'Oh who am I kidding. Helga's a fox! I'm not worthy. I just... I just can't think that way. It's not fair to her. What does she think of me now?'_

She reached for the door. _'Arnold, I'm sorry I should have locked the door.'_

'_Helga, look, I'm sorry I saw you naked, I should have knocked on the door.'_

The sound of the bathroom door as it opened snapped Arnold out of his fantasy land of apologizing profusely to the naked form of Helga Pataki. He looked up to see Helga step around the corner clad in a simple white robe. She leaned against the wall with her arms folded, and looked questioningly down at Arnold with a quirked though awkward eyebrow.

Arnold finally made eye contact with Helga, and gave her a cheesy smile

X X X

"Hey you two!" Phoebe greeted cheerfully as their companions entered the little restaurant downstairs, which included a continental breakfast.

"Huh?" Helga looked up from her concentration of the smells that greeted her nose... Eggs... Bacon... Pancakes... Arnold's shampoo and the fact that she stole some of it that morning... Arnold, who was walking beside her, hadn't noticed. Immediately she spotted Phoebe and Gerald. The two had scoped out a quiet corner of the restaurant and were sitting dangerously close to each other, like their bodies had been fused together. _'Are they going to share the same plate now?'_ She thought amusedly. They even had similar attire. Phoebe had on a blue conservative halter top and black jeans, Gerald was wearing blue jeans and a blue polo shirt that matched the color of Phoebe clothing. It even had a white "33" embroidered on it. The sight helped her smile somewhat as she and Arnold walked up to the pair.

They were in stark contrast to Helga and Arnold. But it made sense. Helga had a white and pink striped shirt and blue jeans, while Arnold, her beloved, had jeans and a flannel button up shirt that she just wanted to wrap her arms around.

"Did you sleep well?" Phoebe asked.

"Oh, yeah, we did." Helga said as casually as possible. Her mind was still analyzing the look on Arnold's face the very moment he saw her naked. _'What does he think? Is he appalled? He must be appalled. Criminey... I'm such a freak of nature even my beloved thinks I'm ugly.'_ "And we are ready to face the day!" She feigned a smile.

"Well fantastic! We're gonna first go to the Vancouver Aquarium early, so that we don't hit the crowd this afternoon." Gerald said, and motioned for the two to sit at the table with them. "You guys wanna go too, or do something else?"

"I'm going. I want to see the Belugas." Helga stated, and grinned genuinely.

Arnold heard the tone of Helga's voice and smiled. "Sure let's go, I already charged my camera so at least I have something to bring back home to mom since she wants to see some pictures."

"All right then! Okay, so let's set a game plan. We'll go to the Vancouver Aquarium first, and then what?" Gerald asked.

"I'm definitely going on the Hell's Gate air tram! Anyone want to join me?" Helga announced while she looked around for a waiter.

"I'd love to go!" Phoebe beamed as their plans fell into place with nary a hassle. "And then after, I'd love to go and see the Vancouver Art Gallery! I read online they are featuring the newest pieces by Dave Lang, you know the painter who does the British-Columbia landscapes?"

"Oh hell, I love his work! I'm in!"

"I'll go with you. It sounds really, interesting..." Arnold trailed off as he turned to Helga and caught her eyes. If Arnold had ever truly caught the meaning in someone's gaze before, this would be the first time. It may have been the way her eyes added a depth of innocence to the indecisive curve of Helga's lips, and the nervous quirk to her eyebrows. It betrayed the facade she had put up, and he could see right through it. It was almost as if she was still naked. He felt the pangs of shame again, and he wanted some way to let her know what he truly thought, without sounding like a creep.

'_You have beautiful eyes, Helga.' _Arnold noted to himself. And... He breathed in slowly. _'Did you use my shampoo this morning? And why is your bow in your hair again? I always loved your bow.' _The sound of Gerald clearing his throat broke them out of their trance, and the two blondes looked away awkwardly.

Gerald and Phoebe both raised their eyebrows at their respective best friends' behaviour, but said nothing about it. At least they weren't fighting.

"Um...well, uh, great! Okay, uh, sure. We'll do that then." Helga managed with a cheesy laugh as she scratched the back of her head nervously. "Um, so! What about you guys?"

"I'll go along with you too, babe. And then after we gotta go on one of those charter cruises." Under the table, Gerald squeezed Phoebes hand; the one he had been holding the entire morning.

Phoebe squeezed back. "That sounds like a lovely idea."

X X X

It seemed like there was a very low tempo rave going on in the heart of the Vancouver aquarium as the flash on Arnold's camera went off again, and again. He had gone picture crazy, although they all knew he did this so his mother could feel like she was there with them.

"So how far along is Stella?" Gerald asked as he stopped and then kneeled down slightly to look into a large tank filled with anemones and various types of clownfish. Though the clownfish were hiding amongst the tentacles, every now and then one would peak out from hiding, and would then scurry back under cover when someone beside the group would point and say _'there's one!'_

"About seven months" Arnold answered as he stood there and spied a brightly coloured percula literally jump from one anemone to the next.

"Is it a girl or a boy?" Phoebe asked as she walked behind Gerald. She leaned against her boyfriend and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, while she turned to face Arnold

"Well dad didn't want to know but you know how mom is." Arnold smiled. "It's a girl. We're going to call her Isabelle. Isabelle Gertrude"

"Ooohhhh." Phoebe cooed. "Amazing, how a woman of her age can still be able to bear a child. Many women at her age enter menopause or have lesser chances at conceiving."

"Well doi, Stella is all kinds of awesome. If anyone can have a baby even at her age, it's her." Helga said honestly. She spied a black clownfish in the open and tapped on the glass, causing the poor fish to literally swim upwards and almost out of the water, before it swam back down and hid behind a rock. Helga smiled wickedly and then looked at Arnold. "How is Stella anyway? Has the pregnancy been hard on her?"

Arnold turned to Helga and smiled at her concern. "Not really, she's been getting through it very well. Sure there's the usual pregnancy troubles, but other than that, she's had no real big problems."

"Just as I thought... Hey! You gotta show baby pictures when little Isabelle is born, you hear?"

Arnold laughed. "Why don't you just visit the hospital when she's born?"

Helga's eyes widened and she looked at Arnold. "...Wait, what? No no no, I can't do that."

"Come on Helga. I know we...don't always get along, but Mom and Dad, and Grandpa and Grandma know you well enough, and I bet they wouldn't mind your presence when Isabelle is born.I mean, you did help mom back in San Lorenzo. So it's not like you're a stranger"

He noted the awkwardness in Helga's eyebrows and saw the opportunity. "And besides, I'm sure Isabelle would want to meet you too."

Helga looked away and Arnold could see a cute little blush on her cheek. Helga laughed. "...Well, far be it from me than to deprive them of my presence, right?"

They both shared a laugh before looking back through the glass at the small aquarium rendition of _Finding Nemo_, before the four of them resumed walking.

"Look! A hammerhead shark!" Gerald pointed to one of the larger tanks. "Looks like you when you wear pigtails, Helga."

"Hey!" Helga batted him playfully as they stepped in front of the tank, and Arnold snapped a picture of the two as they passed in front of the shark. By then they were all immune to the flash "I am not a shark! ...Although I may as well be."

"She is when she's pissed at someone." Gerald jabbed back.

"Hmph!" Helga folded her arms and looked away, but her smile betrayed her mood.

"Hey. Look at these little guys." Arnold pointed to a tank to their right, and the group approached it. Inside the tank were five or six plain looking yet very bright fish amongst a few other types of fish. Every now and then two of the fish would meet up and kiss. Other people were gathered in front of the tank watching the spectacle. As the group watched, Phoebe read the description placard aloud. "Those are Kissing Gourami, from Southeast Asia. The foremost rays of the jugular pelvic fins are slightly elongated. The petoral fins are large, rounded, and low-slung. The Kissing Gourami gets its name from the way it will 'kiss' other fish. They are not kissing but they are in fact acting out of aggression, to establish dominance over the other fish." The group watched on as one Gourami would approach another fish and then kiss at it. Eventually Phoebe saw something else on the other side that piqued her interest, and then tugged at Gerald, dragging him along, until only Helga and Arnold were left watching the Gourami. There was also something else in Phoebe's actions as she looked back at her friends and smiled warmly at them while Gerald placed his arm around her shoulders. He whispered something in her ear that made the slight Japanese girl from Kentucky giggle and say "Gerald... Hush…"

"Look at them go." Helga said as she placed a finger gently on the glass. "It's funny, you got two different types of fish living together, and you see the one right there by the other the kisser fish?"

Arnold followed her finger to a small but brightly coloured fish off by itself in a corner of the tank. It was swimming in place as it idly watched Helga and Arnold "Yeah?"

"That one likes to be by itself even though it's surrounded by people"

Arnold rested his arms on the bar that surrounded the tank itself, he leaned forward. With newfound courage, he assessed the situation. "Maybe the fish needs to realize that it's not so bad having different kind of people around you, sure some might be dangerous fish out there and they might want to hurt it but that doesn't mean it should want to hide and be alone"

Helga leaned forward against the railing as well. "Maybe it just doesn't want to lose its pride in seeking out for help or trying to be one of the groups." Arnold looked at Helga, and noted the profile of her face. There was something profound in her expression. "Perhaps it feels like it doesn't deserve to be part of something great, I mean its better independent and in charge"

"I guess..." Arnold trailed off and looked at the tank again. "But isn't it lonely? You know. Being that way?" Arnold wasn't expecting an answer. He never thought Helga would give up her secrets so easily. So he wasn't surprised when seconds of pause became a minute, and he had to put the conversation in the back of his mind.

It wasn't long before one of the gourami found the other fish in the corner, and swam to it. It hovered around the shy fish for a few moments, and then swam closer to the cowering fish. In a flash, both fish took off to the other side of the aquarium, where the pursuing gourami finally cornered the fish and got its kiss.

"Awww." Helga said feeling her romantic side come about. "I don't care what the stupid bulletin says. I still think they kiss just to be romantic."

Arnold snickered.

"What?" Helga looked at him incredulously.

"Helga versus science."

"Oh come on. Scientists make mistakes too you know."

Arnold smiled at the sight and the fact that he heard Helga sigh. "Don't get all girly and romantic on me Helga."

"Don't make me shut you up with The Five Avengers." Helga stood tall in front of Arnold and shook her fist. But her smile betrayed her.

"You know, I am much stronger then you."

Helga playfully punched her fist against Arnold's shoulder as they resumed watching the lone gourami chasing its 'victim' before it finally stole another kiss.

"Hey Arnold." Arnold turned to see Helga mimicking the gourami by puckering her lips.

Arnold smiled, looked at the tank again, and then in one quick turn Helga could feel his lips against hers for a brief moment. She fell back, stunned slightly, as Arnold walked away from her and towards their friends, only looking back at her once to wink playfully in her direction.

It happened so quickly that she didn't feel the pressure of his lips against hers. Yet their cool presence lingered. She stepped back against the tank in shock as she watched Arnold join her other friends at another tank. Beside her, in the tank they had been watching, a gourami, the gourami that had chased the other shy fish around, swam close, like it was looking in Arnold's direction too.

Arnold had kissed her yet again. It was just a little peck, but still a kiss. As she followed after them, slowly, a dazed goofy smile grew on her face. '_He's flirting with me! Ohhh...' _She swooned.

'_Oh Arnold... Sure sometimes we hate each other, then like each other, then fight, kiss, fight... Wow...' _Helga walked towards her friends, all the while thinking of ways to make Arnold kiss her again like the night before.

The kissing fish behind her in the tank watched her leave, and then scampered off as the fish it had been chasing earlier came around behind it and stole a kiss of its own.

Arnold met up with Gerald and Phoebe on the other side of the hall. The two of them were watching an aquarium filled with reef fish. He stood beside them as the two talked quietly to one another. He leaned against the railing and focused on a beautiful yellow and neon blue queen angelfish as it meandered about as if showing off for the appreciative crowd.

'_I think…I... really like Helga don't I? I hope she's not angry with me. Wait. Am I…falling for her? I love the kisses we've shared, so...' _Arnold closed his eyes. That kiss was such a spontaneous act. And for a moment he felt sure. Then the confusion came back. He felt a presence to his left and opened his eyes to see Helga looking into the tank before them with a goofy smile on her face.

He couldn't help but smile. '_Maybe…it's not just me who loves our kisses.'_

Arnold looked away from Helga and towards his friends. Why couldn't he think straight around Helga? And why was just her mere presence making him feel so alive?

Beside him, Helga held out a finger to the glass. The angelfish that Arnold had been watching approached the glass cautiously, and then turned to get a better look at Helga's finger. She slowly moved her finger to the left, and the beautiful yellow and blue fish followed it curiously.

Helga smiled in contentment. _'This moment we share, Arnold.' _She turned to look at her beloved and the angelfish scampered off, '_Don't let it end.'_

X X X

Later on after the quartet finished the aquarium, and had a quick lunch consisting of Subway, they made their way to the attraction that was Hell's Gate at Fraser River. The tourist attraction there was an aerial air tram that would descend to their destination, crossing along the river and southern Fraser canyon. It was in such a beautiful area, and was indeed very popular, considering the amount of tourists waiting in line for the ride.

"Whoo yeah, baby! Good thing I brought this with me!" Gerald exclaimed as he held a video camera in his hands. He swept it around to get the scene, narrating as he slowly turned around. "And here we are at the popular attraction that is Hell's Gate at Fraser Canyon! Pretty darn cool." The focus of the camera came to a stop on Helga, who was looking out at the river from where they were standing.

He moved to Helga for a close-up shot, causing the blonde to notice. "Get that out of my face, Geraldo! I hate being on television." She laughed, and then gently put her hand to the lens to block the view.

She was too busy fighting off Gerald's camera, that she didn't hear Arnold approach her from behind. Her body froze as she felt Arnold's arms sweep her off her feet. In mere moments she was in Arnold's arms, bridal style. She laughed more, it was all she could do to keep from swooning that very moment

"Hey!" Arnold turned towards Gerald, and angled Helga's legs towards the canyon. "I found a way to end all our problems."

Gerald stood back to get a better shot while Helga screamed with laughter. "Noooooo!" Helga grabbed Arnold around his neck and laughed.

She pulled herself closer to Arnold's head and tried to threaten him. "Well this is Hell's Gate Arnoldo...you throw me down there and I take you to Hell with me!"

"Go on Arnold, do it!" Laughed Gerald.

"You guys..." The camera turned to Phoebe. She had a hand to her mouth at the sight of her best friend having the time of her life.

"I know, right, babe?" Gerald replied.

Phoebe giggled and waved at the camera. "Come on, the line is moving, we should follow along so we don't lose our place."

Helga exhaled the remainder of her giggles. Then she realized Arnold was still holding her. A sigh escaped her as she snuggled into him for a moment, just to enjoy it while she could.

"You still want to go back to where you came?"

Helga studied Arnold's arched eyebrow, then laughed at his genuine attempts to flirt with her. She narrowed her eyes like a cat and pawed at his shoulder. "Why football head." She purred. "Are you sure you want to die so quickly?"

"Not really, I love living, thank you." Arnold let Helga down on her own two feet, and then took his camera to snap a quick picture of the rock edge with the water flowing downwards.

"C'mon guys! The line's getting shorter!" Gerald hollered.

"We're coming, Tall Hair Boy, keep your shorts on!" Helga called back. "The air trams hold quite a few people at a time anyway!"

"Dude, that's right." Gerald then nudged Phoebe, who nodded in agreement.

Helga turned to notice the small smile on Arnold's face. His eyes were watching the water flow downward with the awe of a child.

"Thinking about the jungle?" Helga stood beside him and asked softly.

"Yeah."

"It IS a rural area...I can see why it kind of reminds you of it."

"I guess it just reminds me of the event that changed my life."

"That's true. A lot changed back then." Without hesitation Helga took Arnold's hand in hers and then gently tugged him towards the others. "Come on Arnold, let's get in line. We're going to see more of the canyon and the river along the air tram anyway."

Arnold looked at Helga and smiled, then nodded and let her lead him over to the rest of the group.

X X X

They all sat on the aerial tramway looking at the beauty all around them. Fresh green foliage, the most awe inspiring view of the towering rock walls of the Fraser canyon, and the frothing river as it plunged onwards, all vied for their attention. It was otherworldly. It was beautiful.

Phoebe and Gerald sat on one side together while Arnold and Helga sat side by side looking at the view.

"Its things like this that makes me want to become an explorer." Arnold thought aloud as he took more pictures of the scenery.

"Me too!" Helga replied enthusiastically, before she could stop herself. "I mean, well you know, I agree with you there. I kind of had notions of travelling the world and exploring all kinds of places too." '_That's one of my dreams after all, that we travel the world together.'_ "I'm not just sitting there listening to Miles and Stella tell stories of their travels to be polite, you know. It'd be awesome to do what they do one day."

"I concur. It would be very exciting to see different places." Phoebe nodded from across the tram.

"Well, we're kinda doing that here right now!" Gerald declared as he brought his arm around phoebe and pulled her close. Phoebe blushed and rested her head on Gerald's shoulder. "Startin' small, but it's something."

"That's true." Helga nodded. She idly noted Phoebe's pleasant expression. "I guess we are starting small." She then smiled at Gerald and then continued to look out the windows of the air tram and the breathtaking panorama that literally surrounded them.

Arnold's attention however, was set on Helga.

After the awkwardness of this morning burned off in the morning sun as the rain tapered off, he noticed that Helga wasn't the same rough and tough bully he knew. Just like the rest of the kids they all grew up with, Helga had changed. It wasn't just a physical change. Her attitude was still the same old bully persona that she projected like a spotlight, only now Arnold noticed that seemed subdued by something more profound.

True they were always fighting, with that fight a few days ago being one of the worse he had ever experienced with her. He wagered that something must have happened since then. It allowed Helga to feel like she could let her defences down for once and get closer to him. Arnold loved the playful tones her voice could take, and the way she looked at him when she thought he wasn't looking.

'_I can't put my finger on it, there is so much I want to know, Helga. What are you hiding?'_

The world around him seemed to drown out, and even though he was looking at the world outside, he was actually studying Helga's expression in the glass.

'_You do have charm, you know. You're very smart. You're a great dancer. You've always been there for me through everything. And now that I think about it, you're really very pret-'_

"Hey man, mind if I take the camera?" Gerald suddenly spoke up.

Arnold turned away from Helga's reflection and looked at Gerald in a daze. "Huh? Oh, sure, Gerald." He fumbled for his camera, and then handed it to his best friend. Gerald looked at Arnold quizzically before returning to his seat so that he could take his own pictures.

"Head in the clouds again, Football Head?" Helga teased.

Arnold turned to look at her grin. "Maybe. What are you going to do about it?"

She rapped his head with her fist lightly. "Why, bring you back to the world of the living, doi. What else could I do?"

"And _how_ would you do that exactly?" Arnold spoke quietly, damning his confused mind. '_Wait...am I flirting her?...I am flirting with her aren't I?' _This caused Arnold's heart to skip a beat in the excitement. All at once there were two forces, one telling him to stop, and yet another, pulling him incredibly towards new and unknown territory.

"Well, if you have a preference, maybe something could be arranged." She batted her eyelashes in a flirty yet playful manner.

Arnold decided quickly that he liked the sound of that. He lowered his eyes scooted closer to Helga. "Really? You don't say...hmmm. what's your preference?" He asked with a sly smirk. _'She really did use my shampoo this morning.'_

Helga's heart raced on._ 'He's flirting with me... Oh AWESOME! This is going to be so good.'_ She leaned into Arnold. "That depends, I have a few of my own. But a few I don't think I'd mind inflicting on _you_." Her smirk grew but her eyes lit up.

"You always did have a thing for torturing me, so give me details because I'd love to find out what's in that evil mind of yours."

"You make me sound like I'm a James Bond villain or something!" She laughed, and then squeezed his knee without thinking. "Well, I think I can share some of my...ideas with you, maybe in a more..." Her voice quieted to a whisper. "_private _place?"

Before Arnold was able to say something witty, their seat lurched as the cable car came to a stop.

"Here we are guys!" Gerald declared, getting up. Phoebe stood up with him. "Wow!"

As the gondola stopped, and the doors opened to allow them to disembark, Gerald pulled Arnold aside and leaned in.

"Man, what was _that_?" He whispered. "You and Helga were..._flirting_ in there. Is something going on? You guys haven't argued _once _all day!"

Gerald smiled at the blush that overcame his best friend. His suspicions were being confirmed.

"I don't know but..." he turned around to see Helga laughing with Phoebe. "I think I'm starting to well." Arnold looked away and towards the girls.

"C'mon bro. What is it? I won't tell anyone. You know, the bro code and all."

Arnold sighed, turned back to Gerald, and looked him in the eye. "I have a crush on Helga."

X X X

"Okay, now let's make it good! This is for Stella! And...action!"

They were exploring the canyon and the tunnels along the river, with Arnold taking pictures, Gerald recording the scene, and with the girls following and conspiring with each other. They had settled at a spot overlooking the water, Arnold had picked the spot, and Gerald was recording yet another message from the gang; a little "Hello" for Stella, for her to view when they got back home.

"Hello, Mrs. Shortman!" Phoebe waved into the camera.

"Hi, Mom!" Said Arnold, also waving.

"Hey, Stella!" Helga waved too.

Gerald turned the camera to himself. "Hey Mrs. S!" He waved into the lens, before aiming it back at the trio.

"We just wanted to show you everything that we're doing now, since we've disembarked the gondolas." Phoebe said. "We hope you're doing well and are enjoying following along in our journey so far."

Arnold spoke up. "It's quite a blast out here in B.C. Mom! Hell's Gate is definitely worth exploring, and has a lot of history attached to it, so if you're into old rugged places and rivers with lots of a history like you are, you're gonna love this. And don't worry we'll head to all the Vancouver attractions. I heard the waterfalls are strong."

Gerald took one more pan and then stopped the camera so the group could keep going. Arnold and Helga took the lead as they walked side by side, enjoying each other's company. Behind them, Gerald and Phoebe followed. Gerald watched Arnold and Helga with interest while Phoebe read through a brochure she had squirreled away in Gerald's camera bag as they left the hotel that morning.

"We should go to Minter Gardens tomorrow." Phoebe said as she turned another page in the brochure. "It's a 90 minute drive east of Vancouver, but it has a lot of amazing attractions, a water park, a campsite, and such beautiful gardens to walk around through."

Arnold and Helga stopped and turned around to look at their Asian friend with interest. Gerald followed suit. Soon they were all huddled in a circle to look at the illustrations on the brochure. "Sounds like a great idea, babe." Gerald agreed. "We can make a day trip out of that!" He looked up at Helga and Arnold "You guys game?"

Arnold looked at Helga, and upon seeing her smile, nodded as well. "Why not? That sounds like fun. I want to see the waterfalls, since we can't access the ones here too closely."

Helga caught Arnold's gaze and then blushed at his attention as Phoebe said. "Then it's settled."

X X X

Later that evening, in the hotel room, after the day's festivities had ended, Arnold lay on the bed and snacked on a beef sandwich he had ordered. Helga had laid claim to the bathroom in order to take a shower, with the door locked of course, leaving Arnold to his thoughts.

As he listened to the changes in the shower spray, he began to think back to the day, how he had seen Helga naked, flirted with her, confessed to Gerald that he had a crush, and then flirted some more with Helga. In fact they flirted on the way to the hotel room all the way to the point Helga retreated to the bathroom to take a shower.

'_I can't believe I like her like...it's going to be even more difficult to be in the same bed as her now that I know how I feel.' _He finished off the sandwich and sat the plate beside the bed. He then ran his hands through his unruly hair. _'Gah! I'm still so confused. Am I doing something wrong? Are we going to fast? What if I hurt Helga? What if I hurt myself? What if...'_

He had a dark thought. _'What if she hurts me?'_ He sighed and closed his eyes. No. He didn't want to think about that too much. But still.

It was then that Helga emerged from the bathroom, having already changed in her PJ's. Light sleep over took Arnold, until his eyes snapped open at the sound of the door opening, and he looked up to see Helga brushing her hair.

"Man, that shower is so what I needed." Helga exhaled and then plopped on the bed beside Arnold, causing him to bounce up slightly. She brushed her hair a few more times, looked at Arnold for a moment, and then resumed brushing her hair. "What's on your mind? You look a little lost in thought."

Arnold smiled, and laughed. "Oh, nothing." He lied. Of course it was something, just not something he wanted to bring up. He reached for the TV remote on the night stand and turned the TV on.

The TV blinked to life and in an instant Helga saw what she wanted to watch. "Wrestling! Channel 50! Now!"

Arnold obliged and turned the TV to channel fifty. The show had just started. Grinning, Helga grabbed the remote from Arnold, sat back, and turned the volume up a little.

"All right! Now that's more like it!"

The pair sat in silence watching the opening to the show, and its promise of extreme choreographed violence, while Arnold sipped on a yahoo soda and Helga brushed her hair.

Arnold saw Helga's smile out of the corner of his eye. _'I swear. I've never seen her radiant for so long. An entire day.' _He thought to himself. _'I don't want it to end.' _As if protesting his own thoughts, Arnold let out a yawn, and blinked his eyes as he tried to concentrate on the TV.

The first match was about to start, with the fighters being introduced in as much pomp and flame that could be legally brought into an enclosed arena, when Arnold had an idea. "Hey." He grinned and looked towards Helga.

"Hmm?" Helga stopped brushing her hair and looked at Arnold.

He looked back at the TV and took another swig at his Yahoo. Then he pointed to the TV while he looked at Helga. "I bet you a Mr. Fudgy bar that The Stone will win."

"Really now?" She raised a brow and smirked. "Well, then you're on!"

"If I win what do I get?"

"If you win... I'll give you that Best Buy gift card I have in my purse, it's worth twenty bucks."

"Deal."

X X X

Arnold returned to the room, thanking god that the concierge had an ice cream freezer near the front desk and that he had yet to change out of his clothes and into his pyjamas. It was the most expensive ice cream treat he had ever purchased, and he handed it over to Helga with little fanfare and watched as she opened the wrapper and dug in like Mr. Fudgy bars were going out of style. "I still think you cheated, how do I know you never saw this match before?"

Helga paused from munching on the already half eaten bar and looked up at Arnold with a smile. "I swear on the life of Phoebe. Either this is a new episode or it is one I have never seen."

"Now I know how important poor Phoebe is to you." he teased and crossed his arms as he sat on the bed.

"Screw you." Helga said playfully as she finished the Mr. Fudgy bar and sat the stick with the wrapper on the night stand. She laughed as she rolled onto her stomach on the bed.

She felt a plop on her head and then sat up. The pillow Arnold had hit her with rolled off of her back. "HEY!"

Arnold looked down at her and raised his eyebrow with a smile. "What?" He laughed, feigning ignorance.

"...Oh, so that's how you want to play? Fine then." Helga quickly grabbed one of the other pillows and whacked his side with it. "HA! Now take that!"

Arnold grinned wickedly, grabbed his pillow and whacked Helga on the side. Soon they were both standing on the bed as they took turns pummelling at each other with their pillows as the other tried to block.

"I'm gonna getcha! I'm gonna getcha!" Arnold called out.

"Not if I get you first!" Helga laughed as she dodged another pillow, this time aimed at her midsection.

The laughter continued until Arnold whacked Helga hard in the stomach. She fell down laughing. Arnold held his pillow above his head. "I am the champion—OOF!"

He cried out as Helga had swept her arm around and returned Arnold's attack with a firm pillow to his stomach. She stood back up, and they continued their war. The throws continued until Helga finally managed to knock Arnold's pillow out of his hands. "HAH!" Helga yelled, but her victory was short lived as Arnold, now free of a pillow in his hands, lunged for hers.

"Gimme!"

"No-oh! Ha ha ha. Stop!" Helga giggled as Arnold grappled for her pillow while keeping one of her hands behind her back. Sensing a weakness in Arnold's stance, Helga finally swept her foot under Arnold, knocking his feet out from under him, and the football headed blond fell to the mattress, taking Helga along with him.

They ended up a tangled mess amongst bed sheets and a pile of pillows. Arnold fell onto his back while Helga...

Both were still laughing and breathing hard, until the giggles subsided, and Arnold opened his eyes to look down at Helga, who had fallen into place on top of him. She was looking at him, and her chin was resting on his chest. He could see the happy gleam in her blue eyes as plain and vibrant as a spring day after an April shower.

Helga placed her hands on top of each other, over Arnold's heart, and rested her chin on them. "Hey." She spoke softly.

"Hey." Arnold smiled back. _'She's so light.'_ Arnold thought to himself. He took in a breath, and felt the warmth from Helga's body spread around him like a fire. "I had fun today." He breathed.

"Same." Helga whispered.

Arnold studied Helga's face, the way her eyebrows seemed relaxed, and how her eyes seemed tired. Something bold crossed his mind, and he cupped Helga's face with his right hand. He let his fingers brush into her soft hair, and he watched as Helga let go of a breath and closed her eyes. He could feel her pressing her head into his palm, and his heart beat faster.

He watched the flutter in her eye lids, and he realized that this was Helga Pataki he was embracing. This was the girl who made his life a living Hell. '_How can I be falling for someone who has spent most of our lives making me unhappy...then again I could have...couldn't I? Maybe I had repressed feelings for her all along. It could happen right? Maybe like, Stockholm syndrome or something. It would explain a lot of things._

Meanwhile, Helga was in heaven. '_His hand is so warm, and his chest...I can feel his heartbeat...very fast.' _ Helga thought as she savoured every last inch of their closeness. She let out a soft swoon. '_Now I'm lying on top of him after a freaking pillow fight...' _Helga opened her eyes again and looked into his green eyes. "Arnold?"

"Yeah?"

She reached up with her right hand and slowly ran her fingers through his hair. "I saw that episode before."

This elicited a soft but pleasured laugh from Arnold. "I knew it. You always keep me on my toes. Poor. Poor Phoebe."

Helga simply laughed, and with her other hand out of the way, rested her head on Arnold's chest. Arnold blushed at the continued feeling of Helga's fingers brushing through his hair, and the feeling of her ear pressed into his chest. He had never felt like this before. He wanted to melt. _'This feels so good.'_

Calm overcame him, and he closed his eyes, surrendering to the sensations surrounding him. Helga rested her other hand to his neck and brushed against it in a feather like touch.

She had to hold her breath when she felt Arnold's arms wrap around her shoulders to hold her closer. She smiled in his embrace. '_Well he seems to like it...I've wanted to do this for such a long time.' _She snuggled against him, her head comfortably lying on his chest with her fingers stroking through his crazy but soft blonde hair and resting on his collar bone. It felt amazing to be able to be so close like this, to touch his hair, to feel his warmth.

Her fingers caressed through his hair, even going down to lightly stroke his scalp.

'_Who know I could feel this warm...this comfortable...this...' _ She paused in her thoughts when she heard the soft sounds of light snoring.

Helga looked up in confusion, and then her smile widened when she realized he was asleep. '_He must've been pretty tired. It has been a long day, after all.'_

Smiling, she watched his sleeping form for a couple of minutes while stroking his hair. Then she gently rose up so as not to wake Arnold. It was getting late, and she felt sleepy too. Rising up a little to make herself more comfortable, she frowned when Arnold's sleeping arms let go of her. But that loss was only short lived when Helga gazed down at her sleeping beloved and caressed his cheek. She then leaned down and gently touched her lips to his, savouring him. She pulled away and leaned to his ear.

"I love you, Arnold." She fell softly to his side and let her head rest into the crook of his neck. Soon, Helga's eyes closed and sleep overcame her as well.

~End of Chapter~


	7. Waterfall of love

**Road Trip  
Chapter 7  
Waterfall of love**

The next day turned out to be just as beautiful after a brief rain storm that morning. It was the sound of thunder that woke Arnold from the deepest slumber he wagered he had ever experienced.

He opened his eyes to the morning world and the feeling like something was missing. He blinked a few times as the cobwebs cleared and he remembered what put him to sleep last night, was the feeling of Helga lying on top of him while stroking his hair and neck with her slender fingers.

Helga was no longer there and an irrational fear swept through his mind, only to be replaced with relief when he heard the sound of a hair dryer in the bathroom. He smiled to himself. '_At least this morning I know she's in the bathroom.'_

It was funny how someone with such strong and abrasive fists could at the same time be just as delicate in her ministrations like when Helga gently traced his collarbone. He remembered the feeling of bliss, then the incredible warmth as he put arms around Helga and held her close. He couldn't remember the point he fell asleep, and he barely remembered one more brief moment of consciousness, like she had whispered something unintelligible into his ear, and kissed his cheek.

Arnold put a hand to his cheek, expecting to feel warmth. Feeling nothing but his own skin, he sighed. Then he opened his eyes and watched as Helga walked out of the bathroom and into his view. Their eyes locked on to each other. Arnold smiled and Helga smirked as she leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. "Hey football head. Sleep well?"

The blond boy paused for a moment and studied the smirk on her face. He also noticed she was wearing a simple pink t-shirt and conservative blue jeans that were slightly ripped at the knees. He stifled a yawn as he rolled out of bed to stand while Helga approached the curtains. "Yeah."

Sunlight assaulted his senses as she unceremoniously opened the blinds completely.

"Aggh! Close the blinds…" He hissed.

"What's the matter, afraid you're gonna melt?" Helga teased as she walked to her luggage and started rummaging through it. "Or wait, you're afraid you're gonna combust like a vampire aren't ya."

"Something like that." Arnold laughed. He blinked a few more times as his eyes reluctantly adjusted to the change of light. Once he had his vision back he looked towards Helga. Something that she withdrew from her luggage caught his eye. It was a pink ribbon. It was like the one she wore the day before, but this one seemed more familiar somehow. Like the pink was less subdued. It was friendlier. It grabbed his attention and held it as Helga walked to the mirrored closet door in the entry of the hotel room.

Helga watched her hands with interest as she slowly and methodically started the process of tying her pink bow into her hair. "Well. Hurry your vampire ass up and get in the shower. I phoned Phoebe and they want to hit Minter Garden's early enough so we can spend some time there and still see the falls later."

"Okay." She heard Arnold say as she went through the motions of pulling her hair up into one pigtail, and then another. The movements were all well practiced, but this time she knew she'd have to be more gentile with the particular ribbon that she started to thread through and around her blonde locks while she stared into her own eyes.

She could feel its brittleness between her fingers. She could feel its frayed ends on her fingertips. She didn't know what had possessed her to pull it out of the shoebox that contained the hidden recesses of her shrine to be tucked away in her luggage. The ribbon. The original pink ribbon that started it all, was supposed to spend the rest of her life in retirement. Stored away but not forgotten. Perhaps it was just something she couldn't get out of her mind; a sick dues ex machinae plot twist being played on her as if she were some character in a story.

Hell, it wasn't even that presentable. It had stains from mud and yahoo soda, and finger paints and soured milk. They were all faded, having been washed away lovingly, but those marks and spots were still there, a permanent record of her younger self. Here and there were nicks from running through trees, roughhousing with her classmates, and a brief stint as the standard for a sand castle. . Helga smiled. '_I like your bow, cause it's pink like…"_

Helga froze mid thought when she felt a pair of arms gently envelop her. Her heart missed beats and derailed before finally finding an unsteady balance. A breath escaped her lips and her eyes flinched over to Arnold's reflection as he pulled her closer and rested his forehead against her shoulder.

Fight or flight took hold and Helga wanted to flee, but she also wanted to fight. So she did neither. _'Steady girl. You've waited your whole life for moments like this. Don't screw it up now.' _"Hey Arnold." Her voice was light and meek as she breathed.

"Last night was incredible."

"You say that like we had sex or something." _'Oh smooth one! Here he is holding you in his arms and you mock his words. You never change' _

Instead Arnold laughed a little, sighed, and re-situated his hold on her. Every movement threatened to take Helga's breath away. "I just, wanted to hold you again. I can't describe it."

Helga closed her eyes and leaned her head back. '_Arnold my love. Why are you so bold all of the sudden? Have I finally ensnared you within the wanton fantasies of my burning heart. I am yours my love, everything. My ears, my eyes, my soul, my blood, my hair, my poetry."_

She felt herself being turned around, and when she opened her eyes she was staring into Arnold's. "Can I ask you a question?" He asked.

Helga could barely find her voice. She nodded quickly and whispered. "Sure."

"Is that _the_ bow from, way back?"

'_How can he know? He can't know. I can't tell him I love him. Not now. I… I can't. _Helga searched Arnold's eyes and then nodded again. "Y-yes."

"I knew it!" Arnold smiled in triumph.

'_What?' _Helga arched an eyebrow. "What?"

Arnold studied the bow, and even let go of Helga to touch the loops of unmistakable pink ribbon. "I never thought I'd see it again. You haven't worn it in ages. And the ribbon you've been wearing around your neck just had the wrong color. This one looks better on you."

"You're giving off a weird metrosexual vibe Arnoldo." She groaned in frustration and then shook her head. "Wait. Wait." Helga gently pushed against Arnold, and when he was in a safe distance she scowled slightly, but inwardly she was jumping rope and singing. "Don't tell me you remember this old thing."

Arnold snickered and reached out to touch the ribbon again, only to have Helga gently bat his arm away. Arnold kept his persistence and still smiled. "How could I forget. You remember, don't you?" His smile faded slightly as he pleaded for Helga to remember what it was he was thinking.

'_Okay this is weird. What's going on.' _"You better start making sense in about five seconds Arnoldo or-"

"Preschool? Urban tots? Don't tell me you don't remember."

Helga froze solid as she watched Arnold's lips move.

"I saw you outside in the rain and I saw this bow. And I really really really liked it. And. I noticed you were looking really down and you must've forgot your umbrella, so I got mine and stepped out the car, walked up to you and said-"

"Hi."

"Yes yes that's it! And I'll never forget the look in your eyes, but I'll never forget that bow, and I liked it, and I told you I liked it because it was pink."

Helga smiled. _'OH MY GOD HE REMEMBERS! HE REMEMBERS!'_

"Like your pants."

It had been so long since Helga heard him say that. Years, even. In fact, he last uttered that simple and juvenile little comment about her bow that very day they were recollecting. At Urban tots. Where under a rainstorm a neglected little girl came to define love by a single name. '_Arnold. You remember. Have you figured it out?"_

Helga blushed. "It's just a stupid old bow." '_It's so much more. Much much more.'_

"No. It's not stupid. It's. It may be a little tattered and bruised, but, it's special, one of a kind, and it's pretty, just like… like you..." Arnold trailed off. Helga's eyes widened in surprise, and across her shocked gaze, Arnold felt his heart thump.

Heartbeats of time passed slowly. He watched Helga intently, at her eyes, they seemed fixated on his nose, or his lips, or his neck. The scowl she had earlier was gone, replace with something soft. Something innocent. '_That expression it's like, in preschool. Helga?"_

Arnold stepped forward, and Helga looked up at him, but she didn't move. She didn't move when Arnold closed the distance between them completely, where he could feel her soft breathing on his skin. Helga merely looked up at Arnold in wonder. She frowned and whispered. "I'm not pretty."

Wordlessly, Arnold brought his hands up to cup Helga's cheeks. He brushed a thumb against her lips, and watched curiously as Helga closed her eyes and he felt her lips pucker against his thumb, kissing it chaste. He then brushed his thumb above her top lip, and to her cheek. "Yes you are."

"I've been so mean to you." She closed her eyes and shook her head sadly. "For so long."

"It's okay."

"But I don't deserve your forgiveness."

An amused breath escaped Arnold's lips and it bathed Helga's face. They were so close at that moment. "Isn't that my decision?"

Helga tried to respond. She wanted to respond. She wanted to say yes. She wanted to tell Arnold that and so much more. But before she could take in another breath, Arnold tilted his head and pressed closer like a vampire moving in for the kill.

Helga swooned.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

"Hey guys!" Gerald's voice bellowed. "Are you ready to hit the sights?"

The pair broke apart quickly and Arnold sighed in frustration while Helga looked anywhere other than straight ahead. "Hey Gerald! We're kinda running late this morning. I overslept and I need to get in the shower."

"Hurry it up man. It's beautiful out there and we're burnin' daylight. I'll be downstairs having breakfast with Phoebe. Meet us there."

"I'll be down before football head, Gerald!" Helga added through the miasma that was her thoughts.

"…Kay! See you soon!"

They heard footsteps, and Helga looked at Arnold, who returned the stare.

"Heat of the moment?" Helga suggested, and feigned a smile.

Arnold held his stare at Helga for a few more moments, before he looked away sadly, and walked the distance to his luggage. "Yeah."

X X X

His shower, and then breakfast, went by in a blur. Even as they strolled through Minter Gardens, with Helga always one step ahead chatting with Phoebe, everything seemed one step removed from Arnold's reality. For the group, the lush and colorful gardens were a welcome change of pace to their eventful week. For Arnold however, even the colorful flowers and sweet scents of the foliage around him couldn't keep his world from spinning and spiraling in a sea of golden blonde hair.

He couldn't get the sight out of his mind; Helga staring in the mirror tying that familiar pink bow in her hair. The way she held her arms up as she worked at the loops of the bow. How every movement seemed angelic, and the way she held her arms gave him an incredible profile of her chest.

He stopped and closed his eyes. All he could see was the flutter in Helga's eyelashes as she closed them when he cupped her face in his hands. He remembered the way she kissed his thumb, and how at that moment, when he lost himself in her aura, all her past sins were forgiven.

'_I'm not pretty…'_

'_Yes you are…'_

SLAP! Arnold felt a hand against his shoulder, jumped and turned to see Gerald beside him.

"'sup man!" Gerald asked, then he noted the way Arnold looked at him, as if he were a million miles away. "You okay?"

Arnold reminded himself to breathe and inhaled a deep breath of the crisp air around him. "I guess. I have a lot on my mind right now."

Gerald watched Arnold unconsciously turn and look towards the girls. He followed Arnold's gaze and smiled. "Well. I know you're not looking at my girl. Are you?" Arnold's jaw dropped. "Come to think of it you did kiss Phoebe on the cheek once."

"Gerald, Man, I would never, ever-"

Gerald put out his hands in a disarming gesture. "Calm down man, it's cool. Of course this does confirm my suspicions."

"What?"

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk." Gerald clicked his tongue and stood beside Arnold. They both watched as Phoebe and Helga conspired with each other over something. On a slight hill beside them stood a group of hummingbird feeders on a string hanging between two wooden posts. "That girl is something else. She has you completely turned inside out doesn't she."

Eventually Helga and Phoebe walked off of the path and stood strangely next to one of the hummingbird feeders. Arnold focused his attention on Gerald. "What makes you say that?"

"Intuition. Plus, you did tell me yesterday that you had a crush on her. Man, you're totally baked."

Arnold studied his friends face, and then sighed. "I don't know Gerald. Is it wrong to have a crush on someone like Helga? Is there a written rule somewhere that says I can't?"

"Personally I think it's Stockholm Syndrome."

"Not helping!"

"Sorry. It's just that this is Helga G. Pataki we're talking about. You do know that right?"

Arnold smiled at his friend. "I know."

"Well. Figure it out soon man. We're getting tired of zombie Arnold." Gerald reached out his hand and Arnold did the same.

They had just completed their secret handshake when another hand grabbed Arnold's and yanked him to the side. "Come here football head! You've gotta try this." Arnold had to catch his breath as Helga led Arnold by the hand at a brisk pace towards where Phoebe stood on the sidewalk adjacent to the hummingbird feeders.

He could see the look of amusement on Phoebe's face, and when Helga finally turned around he saw her smile. It was the smile of a child that had just discovered something new about the universe. He felt himself getting lost in it. "What are we doing?"

"No questions! Here." Helga said and she grabbed Arnold by the shoulders. She gently pushed Arnold back until he realized his back was against something. Turning his head slightly, he realized it was the pole upon which the long line holding the hummingbird feeders had been anchored. It was a little disorienting at first, and he looked at Helga and opened his mouth to ask a question, but was cut off with her index finger pressed against his lips.

"Shhh. Now. I want you to stand facing the feeders, and stand stock still. Got it?" It was then that the light bulb went off in Arnold's head and it shone through his smile.

"You're kidding."

"No I'm quite sane. Now stand there and shut up football head." Helga teased. Arnold nodded, and when Helga was satisfied he'd stay still, she walked the distance towards the other pole. She then backed up against it, and stood facing Arnold.

There were four feeders suspended between them, and at first Arnold thought they wouldn't see anything. A few moments went by and he was about to say something to Helga, when suddenly he saw two hummingbirds converge on the second feeder away from him.

Arnold watched in wonder as the two green bellied little birds hovered around the feeders in skittish little actions. He could see the details of their little bodies, the bright colors of their feathers, and the blur of their wings as one landed on the feeder and began to feed, while the other converged on the feeder closest to Helga and preferred to hover as it fed.

From there he could see the deep smile on Helga's face, and smiled back. Everything around him ceased to exist at that moment; Just Helga, the feeders, and the little hummingbirds between them. Eventually the hummingbird closest to him had its fill, and took off towards a nearby tree. The other followed shortly behind.

"Wow!" Arnold exclaimed. All he got in response to Helga was a finger to her lips telling him to be quiet.

It wasn't long before another hummingbird converged on the feeders. This one chose the feeder closest to Arnold, and he watched the little bird hovered around the feeder before it got closer, and closer, and closer still. It finally perched on the feeder and began to feed.

He had never seen a hummingbird this close. Hell, Hillwood didn't have too many of them. Ever since the group arrived at Minter Gardens he'd seen them buzzing around in the sky like huge insects. He never thought he'd be studying one this close.

Soon the hummingbird he'd been watching took off again to hover around the feeder, and was perfectly content to do so until Arnold moved his head. Then all holy miniature hell broke loose.

Instantly the little ruby throated hummingbird was in Arnold's face. He could see the blue of its tail feathers and even its little black talons tucked up close to its body as it hovered in a frantic fit mere inches from his face. The little bird moved back and forth, sideways and up. Arnold could hear throaty little chirping sounds as it scolded him again and again. He could even feel the cool wind from the blur of the bird's wings.

Then in mere moments, it was gone…

Arnold stood there with his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open, while his friends burst out in laughter.

"Congratulations Arnoldo!" Helga spoke up from across the feeders. "You just got cussed out by a hummingbird!"

X X X

Hours later, Gerald, Phoebe, Helga, and Arnold stood on the deck of a boat with a throng of people. The entire crowd was decked out in transparent blue plastic raincoats as the boat inched along the river, and closer to an example of nature's fury.

"Look at the fish. Can you get a picture of them?" Helga pointed down along the boat as a colorful fish jumped out of the water. Beside her, Arnold stood with his camera at the ready, his smile widened when he saw a set of colorful fish jump out of the water, and the camera beeped at just the right time.

"I'm the King of the World!" Gerald hooted from beside them as he spread his arms out over the bow of the boat and laughed.

"Gerald!" Phoebe giggled from beside him. "You're so silly."

"Someone has to be." Gerald winked at her. "You wanna be queen!"

"Not particularly-ahhhahhah Gerald!" Phoebe laughed as he wrapped his arms around her. He tried to pull her closer to the bow, only to lose his balance. He tumbled down to the deck, pulling phoebe along with him, until they were a mass of limbs at the bow, with Phoebe lying unceremoniously on top of Gerald.

Phoebe adjusted her glasses and looked down at Gerald in mock annoyance.

Gerald looked into Phoebe's eyes. "You okay?"

"Well." Phoebe stood up and looked down at Gerald before extending her hand to him. "You're a royal pain in the ass, you know that."

Gerald grabbed her hand and stood up with her help. He faced Phoebe with a sheepish grin, until Phoebe's smile brightened and she leaned up to kiss his cheek. She then leaned in to whisper in his ear. "I disliked Titanic. But I'm relatively certain I can tolerate this experience with you."

Phoebe withdrew and studied Gerald's dark eyes, until Gerald arched an eyebrow. "I love it when you talk all proper to me, babe."

The Asian girl's blush deepened. She took Gerald's hand in hers. "Oh. Hush." And with that, they looked out over the water, and the approaching waterfall.

"The King and Queen of the World are about to get soaked. These raincoats aren't gonna do a damn thing." Helga noted quietly to herself before she looked back over the boat at the water. "Look at that one, it's practically a rainbow!" She pointed to yet another fish jumping out of the water. Getting no response. She looked up. "Arnold?"

Behind her, Arnold had his camera aimed at Gerald and Phoebe. He started with a candid shot, of Gerald and Phoebe looking out over the water, Gerald's arm was snaked around his girlfriend's waist.

"Gerald, Phoebe?"

The two of them turned to see Arnold behind them with his camera at the ready. The two exchanged glances and then smiled. They both turned around and leaned to each other to pose for Arnold, with Gerald resting his head on top of Phoebe's. The camera clicked.

"Hey wait," Phoebe shook her head as she realized something. She broke from Gerald's embrace. "Arnold, you're not in any of these pictures"

"I'm not?"

"He's not?" Helga added in playfully.

"You're not?" Gerald chimed in.

Phoebe rolled her eyes playfully. "Well, not from today at least. You have some pictures from Hell's Gate, but why don't we take some more of you? I'm sure your mother would love that."

"Sure." Phoebe stepped forward, and Arnold held out his camera to her, only to have Helga run interference as she grabbed the camera from Arnold's hand before Phoebe could take it.

"HEY!" Arnold snapped at the thief.

"Hay is for horses." Helga stuck her tongue out playfully. "Now come on, you guys gather around at the bow, to get a shot of the falls in the background."

"All right! Come on, man!" Gerald pulled his best friend up to his other side and placed an arm around Phoebe.

Arnold smiled wide for the camera.

"Okay everyone. Say Cheesecake!"

"Cheesecake!" The camera clicked and Helga looked at the little screen.

"Good one guys! Now. How about-"

"Just a second." Arnold interrupted and stepped to Helga. "We need a photo of you as well!"

"Oh whatever. Here you go." Helga unceremoniously placed the camera in Arnold's hand and stood in his place at the bow with her arms crossed and a slight smile on her face.

Arnold looked through the viewfinder. "Oh come on Helga. You can smile better than that! Say cheese doodle!"

Helga raised her eyebrow. "You did not just say cheese doodle hair boy!"

Arnold looked up from the camera and shrugged with a smile. "What?"

"I can't say cheese doodle and smile without cracking up. You want this picture to look like I'm high on Novacaine or something?"

Arnold shrugged. "Okay, you know what. Fine then. Come here." He laughed, stepped forward, and grabbed Helga's arm.

"A-Arnold? What are you doing?"

He gave her a look as he pulled her to him beside the bow. "Taking a picture, I point the camera and we smile and our photo will be recorded in this camera."

"I know THAT, I meant...well, you know, take one of myself...oh whatever floats your boat."

"No pun intended?"

"Shut up." She smiled. "Okay, just take the shot. "

"Smile."

As Arnold thumbed the button, he turned and licked Helga's cheek before pressing down on the shutter. They heard the click.

"ACH!" Helga squeaked and the camera caught her shocked expression. "Did you just..._lick_ me?"

He blinked at her in confusion then lifted his hand to feel her forehead "Are you feeling okay?" Arnold turned around and silently chuckled in amusement.

Her eyes widened and she blushed. "I-I feel fine... But, why did you lick me?"

"Who Licked you?" Gerald asked upon hearing Helga's statement.

"Football head licked me."

"I don't know what you're talking about Helga."

Gerald laughed. "Yeah right, that's just silly."

"I concur." Phoebe said.

Helga's brow furrowed. '_Et tu, Phoebe?'_ Helga thought as she wiped her cheek.

Arnold turned around and acted as if he were focusing on taking pictures of the fast approaching waterfall. Inside however he was relishing the taste of Helga's cheek on his tongue. Faintly like tears, salty tears, and warmth. Oh god he wanted to kiss her!

"Hey guys! We're getting close to those falls! MAN! Listen to that!" Gerald yelled over the thunderous roar of the waterfalls that were now towering over the boat. When they first got on to that double-decker floating tour deck, the boat itself seemed big. But now it seemed miniscule against the onrush of white foamy water from high above.

"These are twice as strong as the Niagara Falls!" Phoebe also yelled.

"Get a good shot of 'em, Arnold!" Gerald yelled.

"Okay!" Arnold agreed and held his camera to his eye. He took picture after picture of the furious scene before them. He only broke his concentration after he realized Helga didn't seem to be near. He looked to his right and saw that Helga had stepped back a bit. She had her arms on the railing as she leaned forward, watching the spectacle with a smile on her face.

Wordlessly, Arnold tapped Phoebe on the shoulder. His friend turned around, and he then handed the camera to Phoebe, who politely nodded and began taking pictures herself.

"Amazing! Woohoo!" Gerald yelled.

Arnold stepped towards Helga and joined her against the railing. "Wow. Pretty cool, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's like Niagara falls!"

"You've been there!"

"Yes! When I was real little they took me to Niagara falls and we got really close to the horseshoe falls on a boat, like this!"

As the boat got closer to the falls, the mist rained down on everyone, while the churned up water crashed along the side of the boat in waves. It splashed onto the deck close to the bow. The excited yells of the tourists on the boat were almost drowned out by the loud roar of the fall. This controlled decent to the edge of the white foamy chaos continued. The boat got closer and closer still, and it got a lot wetter.

Turning to look at her love, Helga was surprised to see him then turn to look at her, curiously, but with a little smile. Her heart pounded as her eyes locked with his. Wisps of Arnold's hair were plastered wetly to his forehead, and his cheeks were soaked with mist.

Her eyes fell to his lips and an urge washed over her, much like the waves of the current splashing onto the boat. It was almost perfect. Even though it wasn't raining, it was close to it, and it was all so wet.

Helga raised the hood of her blue plastic slicker, and came dangerously close to Arnold's face. She looked into his curious green eyes. "I'm sorry." She said, not caring if the waterfall immediately to her left drowned out her voice. Her hands came to his cheeks, she stood on her toes, tilted her head, and without any other fanfare, Helga's mouth crashed against Arnold's.

The wind blew harder then, the air felt cold as their hoods flew off, but the couple, as their tongues met again, didn't care. Arnold lifted his hand up to touch Helga's cheek as he deepened the kiss. He could feel her jawbone through her skin, and the muscle, and the heat from the blood coursing through her body. Just the warmth on his fingertips seemed to hold away the cold bite of the water, and he ceased to care about the world.

Across the kiss, Helga's body writhed in pleasure and she moaned involuntarily into Arnold's mouth, his taste on her tongue sent her senses into overdrive. The water surrounding them permeated their lips and their kisses were wet, but to Helga it seemed like the water was keeping her from combusting in an insatiable inferno.

Arnold placed his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him and he held her there against him. He noted how she seemed to be using him as an anchor, like she had lost all control of her muscles. But he didn't care. It was a tantalizing feeling and he wanted more of it. It made him feel immortal and at the same time he felt whole.

Unknown to Helga or Arnold, Phoebe had turned and was witness to their passionate lip lock. Their friend smiled, and wordlessly raised the camera up to take a photo of them, keeping as inconspicuous as possible. She turned around and let the camera fall to hang by its strap in her hand as she let herself lean into Gerald.

Arnold breathed through his nose, drowning into the kiss and the feeling of Helga's tongue brushing against his teeth and his lips, and his own tongue. He wanted to explore Helga's mouth again, but he couldn't get over how tight his chest felt at that moment, like his heart was ready to leap out of him. There was overwhelming and fluttering pain that made it difficult to breathe without Arnold feeling the urge to growl. He couldn't believe the intense feelings he was having with this girl in his arms.

She was like a living breathing drug, and the more he felt her kneecaps against his, her hair tangled with his, her tongue against his, the more he wanted to die that very moment. And the way her soft form pressed against his body, the more he wanted to just catch on fire and burn to ashes. He swore he could feel and hear her heartbeat over the din of the waterfall; it was almost as loud as his own.

Helga prolonged the kiss a few moments longer before their lips parted. Arnold couldn't bear the separation and he pressed his lips against her nose and her cheeks, her temples and her forehead. She buried her face into Arnold's neck and Arnold pressed his lips into Helga's matted hair, as he relished that scent that he was becoming all too familiar with.

Eventually Helga looked up at Arnold and they both stared at each other through half-lidded eyes. They still held on to each other, panting slightly, with neither wanting to let go. Arnold noticed the pink tint on Helga's features, and how she was still breathing through parted lips. He imagined he looked the same, he felt like it.

"Wow." was all the blonde boy could whisper. Inside, turmoil was setting in. _I can't stand it. I want Helga all for myself. I don't want to let go. I want to explore her world. Damnit she's so beautiful, and yet she's so dangerous, but. But this is going too fast. I can't… I can't…_

Helga smiled. "Looks like we got to kiss in the rain... or close enough, anyway." She sang, and even swooned a little.

Her words, and her swoon, spooked him. Letting go of her and stepping far away from her, he looked deeply into her stunned blue eyes. Those eyes made him feel shorter of everything. Short of stature. Short of breath.

_What did we just…no, I can't let this happen! _

"Hey guys!" Gerald then came over to where they were, oblivious to what had happened. "They're turning back now! Wasn't that cool?"

"...Yeah, cool." Was all Helga could say before she turned away, looking out over the boat so neither of them would see her blush, or her worried expression.

X X X

On their way back from the falls, Arnold sat in the front seat along with Gerald. Gerald was driving intently while Arnold hugged himself and looked out at the passing scenery.

'_Looks like we got to kiss in the rain... or close enough, anyway.' _He replayed her words over and over again in his mind. He agonized over every single detail as if it had some hidden meaning. But it seemed all perfectly clear to him. There was nothing to that kiss, other than the opportunity. But then why did it not feel that way?

'_I have to stop this before someone gets hurt, it was bad enough that we didn't get along in the beginning now we are getting along a bit too well it seems. Gosh I really don't want this to happen, she's Helga and I'm Arnold. I'm the one who use to be picked on by her and she was the one who love tormenting me, it will never work out between us, oh sure I like her and she may have liked kissing me but she's not going to want to date me or anything. And even if she was telling the truth back at future tech industries, it doesn't change the fact that she's grown and may have changed her feelings for me right? Then again why did she kiss me?' _

Arnold closed his eyes to still his thoughts. He then opened them again, and then looked to the right, he caught site of Helga's reflection in the glass of the window, and he turned around quickly lest she see him staring at her through that reflection. Had he bothered to stare for just a little longer, he would have seen the confusion in her furrowed brow that equaled his own.

'_What is going on with me? Why did I do that? I'm trying to get along with him, but we're getting along WAY too well. But why did he kiss me back? ...Hormones? ….Did he want to? ...Or was it just because I happen to be the nearest girl there? ...No, he's not like that...but still, why? Well it was a good thing I used that line to veer him off, make him think we were only granting a silly wish we had. So I'm safe. ...Still, now what?'_

Neither of the two blondes had said a word since they left the Minter was pretty confused as to why they were so quiet, and wondered if they were mad at each other. Phoebe knew, but she didn't say anything about it.

"...So..." Gerald said, breaking the silence. "You guys have fun at the park today?"

"Yes, Gerald." Phoebe gave a half-smile from the rearview mirror.

"Mm-hmm." Was all Helga could say.

"Yeah." Arnold murmured.

"Man, you guys are quiet. What's up with you guys?"

"...Nothing, we're just tired."

"What were you guys doing all night long?" Gerald joked

Arnold didn't say anything.

"Sleeping." Helga muttered.

"...Okay... Um, turning on the radio now!" Gerald turned on the radio

"_Oh my love, can't you see that I'm in love with you?"_

He quickly changed the station.

"_Confused about how I feel for you-"_

…and again…

"_Don't wanna be without you-"_

…and again…

"_Oops I did it again, I played with your heart-"_

… and again…

"_What is love? Bab__y don't hurt me-"_

… and again…

"_Who's gonna drive you home…__"_

"Um, okay, no radio." Gerald turned it back off. "You guys feel like getting pizza for dinner?"

"Yeah sure." Arnold responded. He looked at his friend and tried to smile. "But can we make a quick stop? I need to print some of these photos for mom."

"All right man," Gerald nodded and smiled, glad that he finally got someone to talk. "There's a pharmacy with a photo lab across the street from the hotel, and they can do digital."

X X X

"It's odd holding their currency in my hand. I'm used to seeing our presidents." Arnold said looking at the tip everyone left the waitress.

"Canadian money is actually kind of cool, since you can differentiate the bills by their colors." Helga remarked. She looked towards Arnold but then looked away as soon as he made eye contact with her.

"I concur, that does make it quite handy." Phoebe agreed.

"And they got coins called Loonies!" Gerald held up a Loonie. "And it's supposed to be a dollar! Why is it called a Loonie?"

"The Canadian Mint named it based it off the bird, the Loon." Phoebe explained.

"I sounds kinda loony to me." Helga said in between sips of her soda.

"You know when I was younger I always thought they named their money after a crazy person." Arnold shyly admitted.

Gerald laughed. "I remember that! And then one time you thought that the guy on the Quaker Oatmeal box was moving to the neighborhood!"

"Gerald! You pinky promise you wouldn't tell anyone!"

"Oops." Gerald laughed. "Come on man, you were six. I remember when I was five, you were sleeping over, and we thought there was a monster under my bed, and it was just Jamie-O pranking us with a tape recorder that had monster sounds recorded on it!"

"I also remember him putting our faces inside of the toilet bowl. That was so _fun_." Arnold stated sarcastically.

"Oh come on man, that was a long time ago. But yeah, that wasn't so fun. C'mon guys, let's get goin'."

The group made their way around the tables in the restaurant, and as they passed the entrace, Helga noticed a colorful flyer tacked up on a bulletin board by the door. She got closer to it and studied it closely as the gears started turning in her head.

"Helga?" Phoebe came up beside her, and saw what she was looking at.

Helga turned to Phoebe, and the through her glasses, Phoebe could see the hopefulness in her friends eyes. She took in a breath, and patted Helga on the shoulder before she walked out of the restaurant and into the evening air. "...Yes Helga, you should."

Helga sighed and looked back at the poster on the unassuming cork board marked 'coming attractions.' _"...Well Arnoldo, it's worth a try, I guess. I've made it this far."_

**~End of chapter~**

**BrokenNintendo's Author Note: Hello everyone both Nintendogal55 and Brokenrose24 has made amends meaning that things will get back to normal with the other fanfiction. Sorry for the scare but sometimes "mommy and daddy needs to blow off some steam" but again we are back BABY! ^W^**

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**Very Enthusiastic Note from Pyrex Shards: On behalf of myself and BrokenNintendo, thank you for all the positive reviews. To address a concern about this story, allow me to say that it is complete in draft form and has been for a long time. It isn't just a simple case of me proofreading the story. I have been adding to and changing parts of _Road Trip_ as I go along, so some delays are unavoidable. But I shall continue.**

**As a very close friend, fanfiction author, and _Hey Arnold_ fan is fond of saying "if only somebody would pay me to sit around all day and write fanfics." That quote is non-verbatim, but alas, if only life were that simple.**

**And, just a few little side notes. The boat ride at Niagara Falls that Arnold referred to is called the Maid of the Mist. That's the boat ride for the US side. There's one for the Canada side too but I'm not familiar with it. I, your humble story editor, highly recommend it as the ride will take you up close and personal to the Horseshoe Falls.**

**Yes, it is possible to get cussed out by a hummingbird. ;)**

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_**Please Leave us a Review (The button right there on the RIGHT side)**_


	8. Music To My Ears

Note from Pyrex Shards: I did some re-writing of the last half of this chapter in order for things to make more sense. I also added some additional lime zest to it. There's a steamy makeout scene between Arnold and Helga for all you A+H fans. heh heh heh.

Many apologies to everyone waiting for this chapter. The latter half of this year should see more updates from me, including Road Trip. We're approaching the end actually. This story is twelve chapters long. We are on chapter eight, so after this there will be four chapters left. If you're like me, hanging on every word like this is one huge emotional rollercoaster, well you "aint seen nothin' yet!" ;)

X X X

The trip back to the hotel was silent and uneventful. After the group got back into the car, Gerald and Phoebe announced they wanted to go to the Vancouver Art Gallery alone. This was after Helga saw Phoebe whisper something into Gerald's ear.

When the Asian girl looked towards Helga and winked. Helga mouthed back a silent "thank you" and then turned towards Arnold. She smiled sadly. He was looking out the window at the passing buildings, and the people on the sidewalk. It had become a common past time for both of them while sitting in the car.

She knew he was lost in thought. More than likely his thoughts were about the kiss, and what it meant. It hurt to think she was so close to him, yet there was an indecisive barrier between them, and for the first time in Helga's years of wisdom about what love really meant, she was at a loss. _'This circle we are running around, Arnold, my love...' _ Helga looked down at her knees and closed her eyes. _'I want it to stop.'_

**Road Trip**

**Chapter 8**

**Music to My Ears**

Gerald and Phoebe excused themselves to kick back before they would go to the Vancouver Art Gallery on their own. Helga surmised that not only would this give her time to win Arnold over, but Phoebe and Gerald needed time alone together as well. She would never admit out loud the pangs of jealousy that would bubble up and collect in her throat when she saw her best friend sharing a moment with Gerald.

Helga reached the window of the hotel room and turned around to continue her pacing while she wrung her hands nervously. '_Next stop, bed post. Then stop, turn, head to window. Rinse. Repeat.'_ Arnold was in the bathroom showering and Helga's ears were tuned to the way the shower spray splashed differently every time Arnold moved. She blushed when she imagined the pleasant smell of his shampoo as it fell in bubbles from his hair to slide down his body. She wished she was in that bathroom right then and there so she could watch.

The pattern in the shower spray changed pace and Helga shook her head to snap herself out of that very arousing dream. She pulled the flyer out of her pocket, unfolded it, and then studied it once more. The glossy paper was very professionally done. It was only marred on the corners, from when Helga had unceremoniously pulled it off of the board, and the two creases were uneven from being hastily folded.

The nervous girl sighed. This was either a one way ticket to Arnold's heart, or it was a round-trip through the land of futility. She wished she could just talk to Arnold about her deep feelings for him, tell him about her unconditional love for him, and then just let fate take its course.

Alas, that vision always preceded an image of Arnold's mouth twisting in horror as he ran far, far away from her, screaming at the top of his lungs. So, no, she could never do that.

Besides, she was a poet and a pessimist while Arnold was a dreamer and an optimist, and their hearts lacked a common language. So a symbol, a glossy symbol on unfamiliar card stock, would have to do.

Hopefully Arnold would accept this gesture. Hopefully it would nudge them in the right direction and would break the circle they ran around, neither daring to cross to the other lest they get burned by the burning pyre in the center. _'Arnold, I can't just go by kissing you for no reason... I have to do this. My pride has held me back long enough. I can't stand it any longer. Will you understand that I want you to hold me forever?'_

She held out the paper at arm's length and twirled around. She spoke softly, dramatically, letting herself channel that melodramatic child poet inside of her. "Does this parchment hold the key to your heart, my love? Will I be strong enough to push open the very door being held closed by my past transgressions against you?"

She fell back on the bed with a slight bounce, with the paper held high like a precious artefact. Helga studied it once more, brought the paper down to hug it close to her heart, and swooned.

After about ten more minutes, Helga had rolled onto her side, and was staring at the plain hotel room wall trying to work an imaginary dot around a maze of squares, when Arnold finally emerged from the bathroom, already changed. His blonde hair was matted down with moisture but was drying fast, leaving his hair in his usual unkempt style. He had changed into dark forest green t-shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans.

He looked at Helga curiously, who in turn noticed his stare and looked up at him. "Hi." She managed.

"Hi." Arnold said blankly but with no malice. He then proceeded to his luggage to fish around for a dry pair of socks.

'_At least he's not mad at me.'_ Helga smiled sadly. "Arnold." She sat up. "I want to talk to you abo-."

"Listen, Helga, about earlier. I think...well I think...it would be best if we just...pretend it didn't happen. I mean sure I'll admit I liked the..ah...but we can't do that sort of thing." Arnold pulled the socks out of his luggage and then sat down on a chair adjacent from the bed.

Helga worked her way over and sat on the foot of the bed. "I _know_ that," She said with a frustrated breath. "and normally I'd agree, but I can't do that now. And that's not what I meant. ...Not entirely, anyway."

Arnold glanced at Helga with a slightly arched eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Helga looked around the bed frantically, before she found the folded piece of paper that had fallen beside her when she had decided to study the wallpaper. Arnold watched while Helga held the small square of folded card stock in her hands. Then with a sigh, she reached it out to Arnold and sighed nervously. "Here."

He sat his socks on top of his luggage then reached out and plucked the curious paper from Helga's hand. Helga let her arms drop and then averted her eyes to the wall beside him. Arnold watched her strangely as he unfolded the paper, then looked down at the secret it held that Helga was so interested in showing him.

It was a concert flyer. In bold letters it announced to him that that Simple Plan was performing a free outdoor show later that night north of Vancouver, not far from the mountains. He continued to study it. The word "FREE" burned into his eyes and a smile formed on his lips.

"I know you like Simple Plan, and well, I like them too. Gerald and Phoebe are off doing their own thing, and we don't have much else to do. I called the concierge while you were showering, and the hotel shuttle can take us there _and_ pick up us up, so we won't have to worry about transportation. ...And I'll come out and say it." Arnold looked up at Helga and met her nervous yet determined stare. "I want to go with you."

"Ah... Uh…." Arnold stuttered. He was completely taken back. Confusion wracked his brain. One part of his brain said '_Well we are going to be alone and I can't let her go by herself in a country we're not familiar with. I guess we can go, I don't see any harm.' _The other part of his brain, lost in the blue of Helga's eyes, shouted _'The sexiest girl alive just asked you to a concert after kissing you like there's no tomorrow! GO! DO NOT LOOK BACK!"_

"Okay." He smiled. "We'll go."

"Well all right, I guess I'll go myself if you-...wait, what?" Helga's eyes widened.

"I said yes, Helga." Arnold laughed. "Don't make me repeat myself, pigtail girl."

Nervous shakes erupted from somewhere deep in Helga's heart, they were so frantic she didn't even hear his friendly barb at her pigtails. '_He said yes! Oh my god he said yes!' _She could feel her entire body shaking from excitement that she fought to contain lest she spooked Arnold and he changed his mind. "Um well...great! I'll just go shower and change then." She got up unsteadily and walked to her luggage where she took out a change of clothes, including a pink short sleeve shirt and a pair of blue jeans, her toiletries bag, dropped it on the floor, swore to herself, picked it up, looked at Arnold, and smiled. "I'll see you in a few."

Arnold nodded and watched Helga walk unsteadily to the bathroom door, which closed with a thud.

"Okay." Arnold whispered. Thoughts of Simple Plan in his head, He walked to the night stand to grab the remote, and then flopped down on the bed to watch TV while he waited for Helga. It was then that a thought occurred to him. He looked over to the mirrored closet and the reflection of the closed door that led to the bathroom. "She didn't mean this as a date. Did she?"

X X X

Arnold doubted that he could have told Helga while keeping a straight face, but this was his first concert in a long time. Around him there was literally a sea of people in what he understood to be a mosh pit at the center of a huge makeshift amphitheatre outside of town. It didn't take long when they walked in the space, and Arnold's senses were assaulted with the sights and sounds of thousands of like minded fans cheering and jumping almost in unison, bathed in light from the stage and the moon overhead, for him to forget everything about what happened earlier in the day, including the kiss.

After gawking for a few moments at the stage and the appealing sound of an unknown cover band tearing up the stage like there was no tomorrow, Arnold and Helga fell in with the crowd and soon they were both lost in the rhythmic patterns; jumping and dancing to the music.

They joined the crowd in hooting and hollering when Simple Plan walked on stage and kicked it off with a song from their latest album, which was _When I'm Gone_

"_I look around me_

_And all I seem to see_

_Is people going nowhere_

_Expecting sympathy_

_It's like we're going through the motions_

_Of a scripted destiny_

_Tell me where's our inspiration?_

_If life won't wait, I guess it's up to me..._"

"WHOOO!" Helga yelled in excitement, pumping her fist in the air, Arnold joined her, and a few other people, and soon what she had started washed through the crowd like a lit match on a cookie sheet dusted with gunpowder.

"_No we're not gonna waste another moment in this town_

_And we won't come back_

_The world is callin' out_

_Leave the past in the past_

_Gonna find the future_

_If misery loves company_

_Well so long you'll miss me when I'm gone_

_You're gonna miss me when I'm gone..._"

"ISN'T THIS THE GREATEST?" Helga yelled above the roar of the crowd and the music.

"YEAH!" Arnold yelled back, grinning widely as he turned his attention back to the stage.

"YEAH! YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME WHEN I'M GONE!"

"WOOOOOOO" Everyone cheered. Then the fangirls started in.

"I LOVE YOU PIERRE!" Came a sing song voice.

It was followed by a very shrill "KISS ME, DAVID!"

Then an attempt at a whisper that everyone in a ten mile radius could hear. "OH MY GOD JEFF LOOKED AT ME!"

Not to be outdone, the girl that Ms. WhispersReallyLoud had been yell-whispering at, not to be outdone, looked up at the stage and jumped up and down while flailing her arms in the air. "PIERRE LOOK OVER HERE!"

Then a really tall redhead went immediately for her pitch black shirt. "ME ME ME ME! CHUCK, LOOK AT ME!"

Arnold caught site of the woman who was yelling for Chuck as she lifted up her shirt, then he turned away quickly when he saw nothing but skin, and no bra.

Helga saw Arnold's blush, then looked over his shoulder and narrowed her eyes at the woman who she surmised would eventually star in a porno with the way she was jiggling her boobs for Chuck. "Dumb fangirls..." She growled.Then she looked at Arnold. '_ah, the Simple Plan dudes are totally boss and make kick ass music that's actually good, but even they can't live up to my love.'_ For a moment Helga's attention was on Arnold instead of the band, before she turned back toward the stage.

As the group settled into a softer song, Arnold looked at Helga while he bobbed his head along with the music. He expected Helga to look at him like she had done many times before, instead she was busy wooting for the band.

He rolled his eyes and looked away with a smile. '_What makes women think guys are hot just because they're in a band?'_

"Hey Arnold!" Yelled Helga over the music. "Go get us something to drink, will ya?"

"Okay Helga" he yelled back.

Arnold wove his way through the crowd, marvelling at the sea of humanity and how everyone had a smile on their face. It was also surprising that he could even attempt such a feat as walking through the group. He had always assumed a mosh pit would be tons of bodies crashing into each other in rhythm. Instead this crowd seemed harmless.

When he finally approached the refreshment stand, away from the crowd he had seen several couples kissing, two guys involved in a passionate lip lock with each other, and a group girls of the catholic school variety all mixing it up. He had to hand it to this crowd, it was eclectic, and it was powerful. To top it all off, it was awesome.

"Can I have two Yahoo sodas?" Arnold asked the man behind the group of tables. The guy smiled and pointed to his ear not clearly hearing him good enough.

"TWO YAHOO SODAS PLEASE!"

The man nodded and went about getting the drinks, which occurred in a flash. The guy must have been a professional bartender or something. Arnold paid the man. He was about to grab his drinks when a tall woman with a blonde buzz cut who had been standing next to him, crashed into Arnold, knocking his drink down along with hers.

"Woah." Arnold whispered feeling lucky it didn't spill onto their clothes. Instead it slowly poured off of the table. The man at the refreshment stand saw and was already getting their orders.

Arnold and the taller woman both said thank you while getting their drinks. "Sorry about that kid." She turned to him.

But Arnold waved her off. "It's okay no big deal."

He made his way back through the crowd again. This time he saw a group of teenagers his age clustered together into their own little mosh pit, an elderly couple who probably subscribed to the theory of 'you're only as old as you think you are,' and once more that very strange group of catholic schoolgirls who seemed out of place yet were equally as enthusiastic about where they were.

Then he spotted Helga. He stood for more moments than he could count, and watched as she swayed and stepped to the beat. It was hypnotic, watching Helga sway and dance. She was completely unaware that she had an audience of her own.

He smile softened in awe. Here she was, dancing, this hypnotic and beautiful creature that, now that he remembered, had kissed him that very day. Thoughts of how lucky he was flittered about in his mind. Suddenly he wished he could just drop the cups in his hands, walk up behind her, and embrace her tightly.

The change in the crowd as Simple Plan finished yet another song snapped Arnold out of his trance, and he shook his head. Realizing that he held two cups full of Yahoo and melting ice, he sheepishly approached Helga and stood beside her. "Here you go!" He yelled slightly.

"Thanks!" Helga smiled back and carefully took the cup from his hand, and brought it up to her lips for a long sip.

The band started another song, the crowd cheered, and Arnold took a drink of his soda. As soon as the liquid hit his tongue he noted that it had a different flavour to it. A taste he couldn't quite put together in his mind. It seemed warm even with the ice. He pulled it away from his lips. It didn't taste bad, but he looked at it, then at Helga. "Hey Helga?"

"Yeah?" she yelled

"Does your soda taste funny?"

"No."

'_Well maybe they gave me the wrong soda, oh well I guess.'_ Arnold shrugged and proceeded to down his soda.

Half way through the next song, and Arnold tapped Helga on the shoulder. She looked at him and he yelled. "I'm out, I'm going to get another."

Helga simply nodded, too engrossed in the music to care. She nodded. "Sure!"

He weaved his way through the crowd again, this time not caring about it so much as he cared about two things. One, the destination, and two, getting back to Helga, who he just wanted to stand next to and dance with like there was no tomorrow.

He approached the man behind the refreshment stand, got his attention, and this time yelled "Last time I stopped by you gave me a yahoo soda that tasted really good."

The man looked at Arnold with a puzzled expression, then his eyes lit up in recognition, and he nodded. "Yeah!"

"Can you make me another!"

Without another word, the man winked at Arnold and went to work while Arnold looked back at the crowd, and how their upraised hands swayed with the music as they melded together.

'_It's official.' _Arnold pondered as the guy behind the counter handed Arnold his soda and he slid a few bucks back across the table in exchange, '_This concert is, awesome!'_

X X X

As the concert ended Helga felt something was a bit off with Arnold. The first time she noticed the look in his eyes, she wasn't sure if she was just seeing things. Perhaps it had been a trick of the light. But what confirmed it, was when the mosh pit started to clear and the pair walked back to the spot where the hotel courtesy shuttle would pick them up.

She looked to her right where Arnold had his arm slung around her shoulders. His grin was for the most part, cheesy, and he had been putting a lot of weight on her shoulder. He was swaying and they couldn't even keep in a straight line.

"You okay there?" Helga placed her hand on Arnold's back to help steady him. She looked around the crowd, but no one seemed to notice, nor did they care. '_oh get over it Girl. These people have no idea who you are, or who Arnold is. So what if he has his arm around you?'_

"I'm fine...um...Helga." Arnold stuttered. He pumped his fist in the air, closed his eyes, and yelled "WOOO SIMPLE PLAN! ALRIGHT!"

Helga lowered her head a little and blushed in embarrassment at Arnold's outburst. Around them, a few die-hards joined his enthusiasm, but for the most part the crowd seemed just as determined as she was to beat the traffic. "Yeah, you're a little late for the cheering." She admonished Arnold softly. "Let's find the shuttle and get the hell out of here alright?"

"Aweshome..." Arnold's words were in a slight slur, and he gave a laugh.

"Arnold, are you feeling okay?" They approached the street and Helga spotted the shuttle a few car lengths down. There were already a few hotel guests on board who had attended the concert. Instead of walking to the shuttle, she stopped and situated herself in front of Arnold. She stared into his goofy grin, and noted that not once had he bothered to balance himself as they walked. Something was definitely off about him, not that she minded the closeness, but it was as if some inhibiter had been shut off in Arnold's brain, and he had been clinging to her ever since the second to last song of the evening.

Then she looked into his eyes and noted how spacey they seemed. And it all came to her mind in sharp crisp edges.

She'd seen that exact same look in Phoebe once, when the two of them had found her mother's stash of Goldschlager one night when they were fourteen. They had decided to sleep over at Helga's house, unsupervised after Helga assured Phoebe's parent's that Miriam would be there. Stupid Miriam ditched them to go out with bob to a sports bar with some friends, so Helga wanted to get even. And get even they did.

A few glasses of cinnamon schnapps later, Helga had hit upon two conclusions along with Phoebe. One, while Olga made damn good apple strudel, it was absolutely nasty on its way up, and two, phoebe had the glassiest eyes when she was hung over!

A smile crept across Helga's face and she smiled deviously at the love of her life. "Oh my god! Are you drunk Arnold?"

"What? No, no, no...no...not drunk, you...you know I don't drink." Arnold tried to shake his head, but couldn't quite get the motion right; it came across as a tilt.

"You are. You're totally wasted!" Her smile was short lived however when after a slight pause, Arnold suddenly leaned in and hugged her. "Mmm you smell really good Hilda."

Helga's eyes widened, a blush tinted her cheeks. "Th-Thanks... Alfred."

"Don't menshon it."

"C-c'mon, we have to get to the shuttle bus before they head back to the hotel without your drunk ass." Helga tried to extricate herself from Arnold's embrace. She looked around at the people, thankful they didn't seem to find this much of a scene as she thought it was.

"What's the rush?" he slurred. "C'mere." Arnold leaned in and puckered up his lips.

Helga's eyes widened and she turned her head so he'd kiss her cheek instead. "Oh no way!"

"Ahh." Arnold groaned. "Why not Helga?"

Helga finally managed to break free. She held Arnold tightly as she walked him to the shuttle. "It's quite simple hair boy. One, you're drunk."

"S-so?" He pouted.

"Two, we're making a scene."

"Le-let them watch ush." Arnold looked around and started waving at everyone. "Hey everyone you wa-" Helga's free hand muffled his mouth while he finished, the rest of the phrase came out as a loud mumble. She stopped walking and wheeled around to face Arnold.

She let go of his mouth and grabbed his shoulders. "And three, you won't remember this and I will. So let's get on the damn shuttle and get you somewhere where you can't embarrass the ever living hell out of me."

Arnold looked into her eyes, then nodded, then snorted, and then leaned forward so his head rested against Helga's collarbone while he laughed.

She placed her hands on Arnold's shoulders and pushed against him until he was looking at her. "Criminey. I'm glad you think this is funny hair boy."

"Helga?"

"Yeah what?"

"I think I'm, I'm, falling..."

Her eyes widened. "W-Wha?" _Oh my God...Oh my God...no...no...he's not trying to say what I think he is, is he?_

Then Arnold fell forward, and as he tumbled, so did a stunned Helga. They hit the dirty ground behind her and Helga landed on her butt into the dirt and grass. When the pain subsided, she was sitting with Arnold's body between her legs and his head buried in her stomach.

Arnold laughed manically and rolled away from Helga "Told you Hi-lda, but you didn't listen!" He pointed his finger up and nearly managed to stick his finger in one of Helga's nostrils as he attempted to press her nose. "You never listen."

Helga sighed and looked up at the twinkling stars above them as she sighed. '_Perfect! Just perfect!'_

X X X

The door to Phoebe and Gerald's hotel room door opened and out stepped Gerald, clad in a white shirt and red striped boxer shorts. If one could say Gerald was glowing, then that would have been an accurate description for the middle child of the Johansen household as he strode out of the hotel room and softly closed the door behind him.

It had been yet another wonderful night. This time he finally got a little more alone time with phoebe. The art gallery turned out to be a very pleasant experience, Gerald thought with a smile as he quietly padded the short distance to the vending machines half way down the hall. He didn't know what time it was but he assumed it was late. Not that he cared.

An art gallery normally wasn't his thing, but somehow Phoebe had managed in a few short hours to introduce him to the wonderful world of classic art of the renaissance, amongst other things. Not that Gerald was there for the art, mind you. Actually, as stupid as it sounded, the thing he enjoyed most was how Phoebe would explain the artwork to him.

Sometimes he'd catch the meaning of a particular piece and he'd say it out loud. Phoebe would grin and then tell him he was correct in her oh so proper way of saying things. And if he'd been wrong. Well...

Gerald reached the vending machine and looked at its selection before settling on the usual Yahoo soda. As he counted out the change in his hand, he thought back to all those times Phoebe would patiently correct him and then smile sympathetically. He'd always been scared that he'd disappoint her. After all, Phoebe was the brains of the operation. That fear had always nagged at him; the idea that one day Phoebe would have enough of his "paltry I.Q." and leave him for someone more intellectually stimulating.

Not that he thought he was dumb, mind you, Gerald blinked while he fed the quarters into the vending machine. One didn't quite go through and fell into the coin return. He reached down, got the coin, and tried it again. It finally went through and Gerald got the soda. He turned and padded back to their hotel room.

So it always amazed him that Phoebe stuck with him all this time. They were going on several years of a steady relationship, and through it all, he always felt like he was the lucky one to have such an exotically smart and beautiful girl like Phoebe. He had come to define his worth in the world through his reflection in her dark almond eyes, and somehow as the stars or God would have it, she found him worthy enough to be her boyfriend, no matter how odd it seemed on his worst days.

Gerald reached the door and leaned against the wall beside it for a second. He wondered sometimes if he should ask Phoebe why she stuck with him. Why she was willing to take their relationship to the next level and share herself with him. But, perhaps... No... He shook his head and smiled. That would be stupid to ask. Phoebe had her reasons, they were hers and hers alone, and that was good enough for him.

Gerald's last thought while he used the hotel key card and opened the door, was '_Who am I to argue with Phoebe?'_

The quiet echo of the hotel room door closing behind Gerald made its way through the hallway. It was followed moments later by the elevator chime at the end of the hall. The little dimmed red light came on to let whoever may have been in the hallway know that the elevator door was about to open and they were about to see a spectacle, had someone been in the hallway.

Fortunately for the occupants of the elevator, the only living being in the hallway was a gnat that took off for the other end of the hall the moment the doors opened and Arnold spilled out onto the ground, taking Helga along with him.

Helga struggled to her feet, and then reached down to grab Arnold. "C'mon football head." She whispered loudly and hoisted him back onto his feat. "We're almost there.

She began to pull on Arnold's uncooperative form. "Helda," he protested joyfully "stop we can, stay here." He wrapped his arm around her and then buried his nose against her shoulder. "mmm you smell so good."

Helga scrunched her nose and pulled Arnold along again. "And you smell like a, Jolly Rancher drenched in, Jack Daniels." She grunted as she strained against Arnold's weight. "C'mon. Stand on your own two inebriated feet for a change and help me get you to bed."

"Only if you're there with mef-helf" Helga quickly shoved her fingers against his lips to quiet him down.

"Do you want to wake the entire floor?"

Arnold looked at her for a moment and then smiled. "I, do."

Helga sighed and swore up at the ceiling. With great effort, she reached Gerald and Phoebe's room. She smiled with relief until she noticed the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door, and then realization sunk in that plan A, involving Gerald helping her sober Arnold up, would not actually happen, and she was on her own.

Over the course of the ride back to the Hotel, Arnold had gone from mildly funny drunk, to shit ass annoying drunk. He was now amorous drunk and he was showing no sign of sobering up yet. Worse off, Helga was now his sole means of balance. She had one of his arms over her shoulders, while her other arm was around his waist.

"All this after three cups of spiked Yahoo. Sheesh..." Helga mumbled to herself as they finally reached their hotel room. She let go of Arnold and fumbled in her purse for the magnetic key card. She found it in between an empty compact of powder and her money wallet, but when she was about to insert it into the door, Arnold's arms came around her and grabbed her around the waist.

"Mmf." His bumbling and unintentional force almost knocked the wind out of her, and she had to fight to stay standing. "Arnold. Let go!" She whispered loudly.

She froze solid at the sensation that shot electricity down her spine and to her feet when she felt the cold wet saliva from Arnold licking the back of her neck. It was if the world around her paused. She shivered slightly when Arnold started placing soft kisses from her neck and to her shoulder, not bothering to move her shirt out of the way. He moved back to her neck and laughed slightly as he nibbled at her skin.

"You taste good too."

"A-Arnold...s-stop it..." Helga pleaded half heartedly as she fought back ragged breaths.

Arnold trailed kisses up to her right ear. He nudged against her. "You like?" He slurred in her ear, and then gently bit on her ear lobe.

"Uhnnn..." Helga bit her bottom lip at the sensation that orbited around her body and made her feel pleasantly heavy. But her mind was still racing with the situation at hand, and immediately she tried to tear away. "Arnold, we ha-ave to get into the room. Come on-oohhh!"

Helga let go of a sudden breath. While she was struggling, one of Arnold's hands had worked its way up under her shirt and to her breast, and was now squeezing it gently. An involuntary pleasured gasp escaped the young woman. Her arms fell limp at her sides as she leaned back against him. The key card fell out of her grasp and silently on to the floor. _No no no...not now...not now...why now...why does one of my innermost desires have to be met NOW? _

"Ahh...Ar...Arnold...please stop...someone will...see us..." She moaned.

"W-wy Hilda?" he asked. Helga could smell the yahoo mixed with alcohol on his breath. It kept part of her mind focused. The sudden sensation of Arnold's fingers working their way under her bra and against bare sensitive skin caused her to wiggle as her rational mind yelled. '_This is not good!'_

"Do youu not, want this?" he asked with a low but still slurry voice.

"Ah...!" She squeaked and inhaled sharply as one of Arnold's dull male fingernails pressed into a nipple.

"I...I...yes...I want you so much...but not here, we should go, in the room." Helga looked down around Arnold's arm, and, finding the key card, let her legs go limp. The tactic work and she fell between Arnold's arms to crouch down. Arnold fell forward slightly.

"Woah!" He breathed as his body fell along with Helga. His hand was still wedged underneath her bra, and Helga could feel cool air against her chest from her shirt and undergarment being pulled up, exposing her chest to the world. But she thought nothing of it as her fingers latched around the key card.

In one solid motion she somehow managed to swipe the card on the first try, thankful it just slid instead of inserted into the door. The little green light lit and she could hear the door unlock.

She pawed for the handle, opened the door, and crawled into the room, dragging her heavier companion along with her.

"But I don't wanna to go to bed Helga. I wanna stay up and play with you!"

Once they were safely inside and the door closed behind them, Helga pushed against Arnold and extracted herself from his inviting grasp.

He fell back with a thud into the door while Helga stood up, resituated her bra, and adjusted her shirt. "You're drunk, Arnold." She said while looking down at him as if to pass judgement. She then turned around and looked into the hotel room while she ran a slender hand through her hair. "Shit." She whispered to herself.

"Hellllllga" he said in a singing voice.

Helga turned back around and looked down at Arnold who was trying to stand. She placed a hand on her hip. "What?" She asked sharply, more so than she wanted to.

"That's such a nice name –hiccup- everything about you is...nice...like rice...ha ha ha..."

There was a pause in Arnold's rambling, and Helga turned around to walk to the bed. "Criminey."

"Helga! Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine." She snapped as she set on the bed and looked at the wall to sort out her thoughts. '_The poor guy doesn't even know he's drunk. __Damn it...I want him SO BAD...but I can't, I just can't do that to him when he's drunk! He'll never forgive me and there go my chances of ever getting with him. ...But what if I never get him? What if this is my only-NO! I'm not doing it. I won't let myself get lost in my desires._'

Arnold managed to stumble around the corner and sit beside her with a bounce. Without any further warning he threw his arms around her and buried his head in her shoulder. "Hey!"

"Hey." Helga responded.

"You know what?"

Helga sighed. There was that contact again, that thing she sought after. It was so wrong, and yet.

"I. Like. You. So. Much." Arnold punctuated every word with a childish voice, and Helga couldn't help but crack up. "W-what so funny –hicup- Hilda?"

"You." She smiled, and then she felt his lips on her shoulder blade. The warmth of his breath soaked through her shirt.

"What are you-doing...?" She breathed. Event his slight touch was enough.

"Snacking –hiccup-" He said through her shirt as he resumed 'eating' her shoulder, slowly, up to her neck.

Helga tried to move away, but even in his drunk state, his hold on her was far too strong, and it was getting harder and harder to resist him, not like it already wasn't impossible to resist someone she loved for so long. She tried once more to pull away, only to fall back on the bed along with Arnold.

He grinned, eyed her neck, and pressed closer. "Arnold I don't thi-." Her sentence faded in her breath when she felt Arnold's lips around the bottom of her chin. She felt his tongue and his teeth. They trailed a wet and greedy path to her neck, where she felt his teeth press into her skin.

It was if she could feel her resolve soaking into the bed sheets underneath her. Instantly the tension in her body let go, and when Arnold trailed down to the side of her neck, she effortlessly tilted her head over to give him what he wanted. His teeth skidded across her skin and Helga's eyes fluttered closed.

"Mmm. Ah..." She mumbled. It was if she could feel the most potent drug ever produced coursing through her veins; Hormones of the highest purity. She had never, ever, been kissed on the neck before tonight. She'd read it in novels, and seen it in the movies, including the ones she'd found in a box in her parents' closet. She remembered a month back when she watched some silly old vampire movie with her mother and sister, and how the human woman seemed to go into a state of euphoria and gasp for more whenever Count Cliché bit down. Of course the victim was in love with the vampire; enough to let Sir Creepy drain every last drop of her own lifeblood.

Talk about a girl with priority issues...

...Olga and Miriam thought it was the most romantic thing in the world.

Helga thought the entire thing was stupid. That all went out the window the moment Arnold's tongue drew a line from her jaw bone the base of her neck. Reservations about what was happening began to flitter from Helga's mind like dozens upon dozens of little drunk butterflies.

Arnold's mouth found her collar. He pulled the neck of her pink shirt down slightly and began to nibble across the length of her collarbone. Soft moans escaped Helga's lips. In her mind, she could hear Arnold saying '_Payback sure is a bitch, isn't it, Helga?'_

Helga couldn't agree more as she let in a slight though ragged breath through the muted pleasure of Arnold's tongue and lips sweeping closer to the valley between her breasts.

Arnold found his way on top of Helga, and the weight of his body pressed down on hers. Pleasure shot up from Helga's thighs, and short circuited vital parts of her mind. Arnold let up to look down at her, and regardless of how drunk his eyes looked, she lost herself in their green.

She noticed his eyes wondering down her body, and she made her decision. _'Just this, girl, just this, and no more. But. What if my Arnold wants more?' _Her subconscious shouted to her. Grasping at her shirt, Helga leaned up and pulled it up over her body. She carefully watched Arnold's reactions as his eyes trailed up from the top of her jeans, to her navel, to the base of her bra, and then up further. The chill air hit her body and she shivered. To her mind, Arnold's eyes seemed warm and curious as he studied her bra. It was one of her favourites, and she remembered when she bought it.

It was an impulse buy at the Pink Store in the mall back home in Hillwood. She remembered getting home, pink bag in hand, and bounding up the stairs while singing the words _'I have a secret' _in her giggling mind. She remembered trying it on as she stood in front of the full height mirror in her room. It was lacy. It was daring. It made Helga feel sexy, mysterious, and maybe a little playful, and it had a little pink ribbon at its center, just like the one she wore on her hair. _'Because this is all for you, my love.' _She thought, and then gasped as Arnold's hands cupped her breasts and she felt his lips against the skin of her stomach.

'_This cannot be happening!'_

'_Criminey it is. I want this. I want it so bad!'_

'_But he's drunk!'_

'_He's Arnold!'_

'_Stop this now!'_

'_Give in!'_

'_No!'_

'_Yes!'_

Despite the inner struggle, Helga's hands had already made her decision. She leaned up again and undid the clasp of her bra, wanting so hard to remove the barrier between Arnold's hands and her flesh, that her subconscious barely had time to register one final complaint '_NO! This is wrong!' _when she pulled her bra straps dramatically over her arms, and then placed her hands on Arnold's shoulders.

It didn't take long. Helga sucked in a deep breath of air at the sensation of Arnold's inebriated lips clamping around a nipple. She moaned as she felt the gentle suction of the tip of her breast being drawn in to his mouth.

She could feel the texture of his tongue, and the sharpness of his teeth. A blush spread from her chest to her cheeks, and when he bit, she swooned, and pulled his head closer.

Electricity tingled through her body. It singed her nerves. She could feel the heat on her face, and she wanted more. "Arnold mon amour. J'appartiens à vous." She sang in French, a holdover from her fantasies.

'_See what I've done! I can't take this back now! He won't remember any of this. I'm taking advantage of him.'_

'_But it feels so good!' _Helga's eyes screwed shut as she struggled with herself over the sensation of Arnold suckling against her. '_This, no, this may be, the only way to... But it feels.'_

'_Think of the cost!'_

'_I'm tired of waiting! I just want Arnold! He's all I've ever wanted. And. And now. I.'_

'_I what! Silly little girl. He only wants me right now because he's drunk. He'll be the same Arnold in the morning.'_

'_Bullshit! We've kissed, we've held each other! I finally have him! This is!'_

'_A MISTAKE!'_

It seemed like a thunderclap, the image that came to Helga's mind as she lay there breathing heavily, as Arnold lay on top, taking her innocence away. He was the boy with the umbrella and the blue hat. The one she belonged to, she was sure, since time began.

She still remembered the look in his eyes as he held his umbrella over her head and said those words that saved her from an abyss. He had no idea of her plight. Just that he could see she was upset. He had no idea how far she had to walk to pre-school in the rain that day. He had no idea how hungry she was, how neglected she felt. He had no idea that all she wanted was for her own parents to take care of her, instead of fending for herself. And he had no idea how much she needed to be loved.

Unexpectedly a tear slid down her cheek. _'I'm being selfish.'_

'_I'm taking advantage of him. I'm making a mistake, and just like then, he has no idea.' _The soft voice in her mind commanded. Then it yelled. '_Stop this now!'_

It was then that she heard the slurred whisper of his voice as he let go of her nipple and pressed his lips into the soft skin of her left breast. "Fuck me."

A tear slid down her the side of her face, just under her temple, and into her hair. Soon more tears joined the one that had blazed a trail. This had to stop.

"A-Arnold..." She tried to speak out, but her voice came out with a sob.

"Hm?"

Mustering all the strength she could find, she grabbed Arnold's shoulders and pushed. "Get, off!"

Arnold ended up on the floor between the bed and the wall. The side of his head hit the wall as he went down. "Ow! Hey!" He winced in pain as he rubbed his head haphazardly.

Concern broke through Helga's teary eyes and she sat up in the bed to look down at Arnold. "...You okay?"

"Why'd you, um. Throw me from that ledge?" Arnold slurred again. Though now his movements were dopier than anything, and slightly lethargic.

'_Maybe the booze is wearing off?' _ Helga hoped. She felt around for her shirt, clutched it in her hand, and then quickly put it on. She got off the bed and sat down cross-legged beside Arnold, who was nursing his head. He'd have a goose egg in the morning. That was for sure.

They sat in silence for a few moments. Arnold leaned against her. Tears threatened to escape her eyes again, but she fought them back. To her relief, Arnold didn't seem to notice. "Sorry, I had to stop you somehow. It's not that I don't want you, Arnold, I do...I want you so much, more than, anything in this stupid world." She shook her head sadly.

Arnold blinked at Helga, but he didn't nod.

"But you're drunk, Arnold," she looked at Arnold and her eyes sparkled with tears. "And you probably won't even remember this. And...I..." Helga sniffled and rubbed her eyes. "I can't just take advantage of you in your most vulnerable moment. I love you too much to do that. You have to know in your heart that you want me, and my virginity, and not what the alcohol is telling you. Please, just go to sleep and forget about this. You won't remember what I'm telling you now. You're gonna go to sleep and not remember a thing."

She sobbed again and looked towards the window and the lights outside. '_The daughter of a drunk, ladies and gentlemen. Her sad story.'_

"Are you trying to hypnotize me?" he asked rubbing his head, everything was spinning "Hel –hiccup- ga...I feel sick."

Her eyes widened in alarm, she got into a crouch and placed her hands on Arnold's shoulders. "Are you okay? Do you need to throw up?"

"No...not really but can you help me onto the bed? I feel dizzy. I need to. I need to sleep."

Helga nodded and placed her hands under his to help him up. Once he was finally up Helga guided him down in the bed.

"Helga?" Arnold asked as Helga worked his shoes off.

"Yeah?" She looked him in the eyes.

"Can you be my sexy nurse for tonight?" Arnold blushed through the remaining alcohol.

Helga stared, blushing hard. "...Well Arnold, that depends." She stated while she situated his shoes at the foot of the bed. "What do you need me to do?"

"Kiss me to make me feel better." His intense stare sent butterflies in her stomach.

Her mind started to race. '_Oh NO... Kiss? Okay, okay, he's just asking you to kiss him, NOT sex...but what if it LEADS to sex? NO! I won't let it happen. ...Oh God that stare...he's never looked at me like that before... Oh damn it, what do I do?...Okay, okay, maybe I can do this... Just a simple, platonic, kiss. C'mon Helga.'_

"Okay." Helga said. She smiled at him and sat on the bed beside him, then leaned down and brushed his hair from his forehead. "One kiss." She then leaned down and pressed her lips against his cool forehead.

She let the kiss linger for a moment, and then pulled away, but Arnold already had his arms around her. He contorted his body up and pressed his lips into hers. The kiss lasted for a few moments then Arnold let go so that Helga could back away.

But Helga didn't back far. Instead she looked at his face and studied it again.

Somehow, through the haze of the alcohol that still held his mind in a grip, Arnold could see and recognize the sad tears in Helga's eyes. Those deep blue eyes didn't deserve it. Despite all that they had been through, they were too innocent for that. They needed comfort.

He reached up and somehow managed to snake his heavy arms around Helga again, and pull her close for another kiss. Her eyes lingered on his for a few more moments, before fluttering closed behind delicate eyelids wet with salt.

It would be the only image Arnold would remember of the night after the concert ride home, as he fell asleep.

He did not hear the last thing Helga whispered out loud as she sat on the couch and looked at the ceiling, and the shadows cast from the lights of the city outside. "What have I done?"

X X X

Helga hadn't bothered to shut the curtains, so when the morning sun came up, it immediately discovered this. It started up on the ceiling in the middle of the room, one huge blob of warm yellow sunlight. As the first hour of sunlight melded into the second, that blob of light slowly crept towards the crook between the ceiling and the wall.

Once there it traveled down the wallpaper as it ate the colors and left everything a bright reddish yellow. Then without warning it jumped the space between the wall and the bed, then finally across the bed where it found the eyes of one Arnold P. Shortman.

For someone with a hangover that first shaft of light from the morning sun is the most painful thing in the world. It is followed by the most splitting headache ever, and as Arnold groaned. He squint his eyes at the bright portal to the outside world while the pain in his head had crossed from dull, to achy, to ass kicked, to what could be defined as 'exquisite.'

"Oohhhhh my goddddddd..." Arnold whispered as he pushed his head into the pillow and pressed the top of his hand against his forehead. His forehead throbbed, his ears pulsed in time, and his brain felt like rotten foamy tapioca.

"What happened?" He asked quietly as he asked the yellow red ceiling and the warm sunlight. He hoisted himself up on his elbows and looked down at his still clothed body. He didn't have his shoes on, but the bed was still made. He looked forward at his luggage and the TV, and tried to focus on its sharp corners, but they all seemed fuzzy.

The entire world floated around him and the sunlight seemed to be pushing against him. "It's so bright in here."

As his brain slowly pieced together his surroundings, he thought back and realized that his last conscious thought seemed to be when he was at the concert with Helga. There was also something else floating around the edge of his consciousness, about how blue her eyes were when she cried.

Arnold scanned the room despite the fact that doing so made it feel like his head was about to fall enough. At the end of his painful movement he saw Helga. There was a long couch on the wall between the bed and the window, and there on her side, with her knees curved up and her arms crossed, Helga slept. She still had her clothes on. Her head was towards the window and he could see the faint outline of a fit in her face. Whatever it was, she wasn't happy at all.

She didn't look at all comfortable there. Then again Arnold was just now learning of new pain thresholds as his eyes lingered on her ears. For some reason though, all he could think about was her dark blues, and how brilliant they were when she cried.

This concerned him...

What happened last night...?

His heavy socked feet hit the ground...

He stood...

...and that was the end of his stomach.

"Humph." Arnold clasped his hands over his mouth with wide eyes, and immediately ran for the bathroom.

He barely heard Helga's concerned voice calling for him as his knees hit the tiled floor in front of the toilet; he dipped his head low, and then prayed loud and hard to the porcelain god before him.

It came out a thin disgusting mess of last night's dinner, brown yahoo soda, stomach acid, and something else. The lights came on in the bathroom. He instantly knew who it was.

"Oh manhuuuuuuuu!" He gasped as another wave of sick emptied out into the bowl before him.

He sputtered and coughed as he heard the sink come on for a few seconds. His stomach continued to jump rope. He could hear his heart in his ears. The world spun, and he felt two slender fingers pressed into his spine, then an entire palm. The gentleness of the fingers calmed him, causing him to puke once more. It subsided again, and he groaned.

"Arnold?"

Arnold closed his eyes at the smooth, concerned voice above him as he held his mouth open, afraid to back up, afraid to lift his head up.

After a few dry heaves and one more productive sacrifice to the altar before him, he coughed a few more times, and spit.

Then the toilet flushed, and Arnold slowly leaned back to sit between the toilet and the wall. He stared blankly for a few moments, and then looked up at the warm wet towel being held in front of him.

"Here, take this." Helga offered quietly.

Without another word he took the towel and mashed his face into it.

"Shit!" He swore into the towel. The darkness that enveloped his eyes calmed him. The warm water from the towel seemed to soak into his pores and weigh him down more, but it was still a comfort. And he could feel Helga's presence beside him. But when he turned, she was gone.

Slowly he stood up and finished up with the towel, then looked down at the toilet bowl. The vomit had already been flushed down, making everything seem surreal.

There was only one thing Arnold knew that could have caused this. Because even though his head hurt, his ears throbbed, and his eyes seemed hypersensitive to light, he was already feeling better. He remembered the way the yahoo soda from last night tasted funny, and he walked into the entry way, and into the hotel room proper.

He glanced at the red digits of the alarm clock. '_9 AM? What the hell? The sun just came up!'_

Then he looked over at the couch, where Helga sat, legs crossed, one hand cradling her chin while she looked out the window, seemingly lost in thought. He walked around the bed and sat down on it, close to Helga, though she didn't turn her head, she didn't move an inch.

"...You...somehow... got really drunk last night." She closed her eyes.

"Shit." Arnold swore to himself. "Helga, I swear to you I didn't mean for this to happen."

Helga smiled. "It's okay Arnoldo. Shit happens."

"No." He shook his head. "It's not okay Helga. I."

"It was a fluke."

"No it wasn't, I knew that Yahoo tasted funny, but yet, it, it tasted good, Helga I didn't realize-"

"And I said don't worry about it." Helga cut him off. Her voice sounded calm, collected, and non confrontational. It sounded to Arnold like she had been thinking about this conversation for a long time, like she knew what he was going to say.

He closed his eyes and collected his thoughts, or tried to at least. It was still a jumble. One minute, he had been having the time of his life with Helga at the concert. He remembered getting a little goofy walking back to the shuttle, but at some point it all went black.

"Helga I-"

"We both know how this conversation is going to end, okay, so drop it."

"But I don't. I don't even remember much of last night. Or that I would be having this conversation with you. How could I possibly know how it'd end? Ow." Arnold rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes as a sharp pain stabbed the back of his eye.

Helga murmured to herself tiredly, then looked up at Arnold. "All you need to know is that I got you back here safe, you woke up with a hangover and puked into the toilet while I held your hair. End of story." He could see the bags under her eyes.

Arnold shook his head again. "No... No... Something else..." It was then that Arnold remembered looking into Helga's teary eyes, and that they, kissed? "Were you crying last night?"

"Well..."

Another image shot through Arnold's mind along with another stab of pain. It was on the shuttle back to the hotel. He was sitting next to Helga in front of several other passengers, and...

_He wrapped his arm around her and buried his nose against her shoulder. "Mmm you smell so good." Helga stopped reaching into her purse when she felt him lick her cheek. She shivered at the sensation. Arnold placed soft kisses on her shoulder and casually nibbled on her skin. _

"_A-Arnold...s-stop it...There's people here with us." Helga laughed uncomfortably and bit back a moan._

"_You know you like it..."_

Arnold almost fell over the couch as he gently grasped Helga's shoulders and she looked into his eyes. "Di-did I? Helga! Oh god. Did I take advantage of you?" Helga tried to look away, and Arnold shook her shoulders once more. "Did I?"

"Quit shaking me!" She cried, and Arnold stopped.

Helga looked down as if she were collecting her thoughts. Then with newfound resolve, she looked up at him. "We kissed. Several times actually."

Arnold held stock still as he watched Helga's eyes, scared at the sincerity they held.

"You wouldn't stop telling me how good I tasted, or how great I smelled. You tried to eat my shirt. You had a hand on my thigh all the way back to the hotel. You copped a feel, twice, once you actually... Well... Made it all the way"

Arnold let go of Helga and stepped back against the bed, where he sat down and stared out into the outside world in disbelief.

Helga laughed nervously. "You bit my ear and you asked me if I liked it."

Arnold's eyes flinched to Helga and they locked eyes. Arnold's mouth suddenly felt dry.

Helga broke eye contact with Arnold and looked around. "Anyway. We both know how this conversation will end. So. Let's just end it now. Okay?"

"But why were you crying?" Arnold asked. He was barely able to hold is frustration and the panic he felt in his heart.

"I wasn't, crying." Helga stuttered, and Arnold knew, that was a lie.

"Yes you did. Somehow, don't ask me how, I remember. I saw you cry last night. What did I do to you!"

"YOU ASKED ME IF I WOULD FUCK YOU!" Helga yelled, her eyes sparkled, and she looked away from Arnold. "I said no."

"Oh no." Arnold murmured.

"The end."

Arnold shook his head and looked up at Helga. "I-"

"This discussion is over."

"No. It's not, Helga I-"

"I'm sorry Arnold."

Arnold stared up at Helga again, and saw shame in her eyes. Genuine shame. Why shame? He had no idea. Nor did he give it much thought as he stared at the floor. It was then that he noticed something at his feet. It was a pink bundle of lace fabric and strap. It cast odd shadows in the yellow light. He reached a hand down to pick it up and then stopped when he realized what it was.

He closed his hand into a loose fist slowly and sat back up, then looked at Helga with his mouth slightly agape. He glanced down at her shirt and realized her chest had no, support, underneath.

He shook his head. "I-"

Helga smiled sadly. "I let you."

A million thoughts raced through Arnold's mind that very moment. The whole in his memory, the bus ride back, Helga's blue eyes. Her bra on the floor, which meant somehow he had managed to get her half naked last night. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

He opened his eyes again and looked out at the Vancouver morning as it peered into the cavernous reaches of the hotel room, and he began to feel claustrophobic. He began to feel shame. He began to feel angry.

Without acknowledging Helga, Arnold stood up. He took one step and felt a slight stab of dull pain, and then a plastic crunch under his sock foot. When he lifted his foot to look he discovered that somehow the clasp of Helga's bra had angled up and was now in two pieces.

"S-sorry." He mumbled as he approached his luggage and yanked it off of silver collapsible luggage stand. The roll luggage fell from the handle and clicked into place so he could pull it behind him. He caught sight of his shoes, picked them up, and then walked the distance to the door.

That look of shame on Helga's face stayed in his mind as the hotel door opened. Helga's voice was louder than the snap of the Hotel room door as it slammed closed behind him and he screwed his eyes shut. "I'm sorry Arnold!"

Inside the dreary sunlight stained hotel room, tears streamed down Helga's face, they meandered around her cheeks as she sniffled, before she broke out into hard sobs, crying into her shirt. She knew this would happen. And she _knew_ she deserved it.

"I'm sorry my love...I don't deserve your forgiveness..."

To be continued in chapter nine.

X X X

Note from Pyrex: I know the end is a rather confusing cliffy. But rest easy, there is a reason for everything, you know. For those of you who had to re-read chapter eight, I'm truly sorry about that. Due to a misunderstanding a preliminary copy of this chapter was posted before it had a chance to be dissected, and now that we've done that, we can say this is the OFFICIAL chapter 8.


	9. REREAD CHAPTER EIGHT

I know most of you would think this is the next chapter but I'm afraid to say "no, this isn't" due to some miscommunication, we had posted chapter 8 without knowing that it wasn't fully beta'd. So please go back and re-read chapter 8, I'll will delete THIS "chapter" and replace it with the real chapter 9 when it is fully beta'd.


	10. The Rules of Being a Gentleman

**Road Trip**

**The Rules of Being a Gentleman**

X X X

It was then that Arnold noticed something at his feet. It was a pink bundle of lace fabric and strap. It cast odd shadows in the yellow light. He reached a hand down to pick it up and then stopped when he realized what it was.

He closed his hand into a loose fist slowly and sat back up, then looked at Helga with his mouth slightly agape. He glanced down at her shirt and realized her chest had no support underneath.

He shook his head. "I-"

Helga smiled sadly. "I let you."

A million thoughts raced through Arnold's mind that very moment. The hole in his memory, the bus ride back, Helga's blue eyes. Her bra on the floor, which meant somehow he had managed to get her half naked last night. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

He opened his eyes again and looked out at the Vancouver morning as it peered into the cavernous reaches of the hotel room, and he began to feel claustrophobic. He began to feel shame. He began to feel angry.

Without acknowledging Helga, Arnold stood up. He took one step and felt a slight stab of dull pain, and then a plastic crunch under his sock foot. When he lifted his foot to look he discovered that somehow the clasp of Helga's bra had angled up and was now in two pieces.

"S-sorry." He mumbled as he approached his luggage and yanked it off of the silver collapsible luggage stand. The roll luggage fell from the handle and clicked into place so he could pull it behind him. He caught sight of his shoes, picked them up, and then walked the distance to the door.

That look of shame on Helga's face stayed in his mind as the hotel door opened. Helga's voice was louder than the snap of the Hotel room door as it slammed closed behind him and he screwed his eyes shut. "I'm sorry Arnold!"

He made his way quickly to the parking garage, stopping once at a bench in front of the parking elevator in the lobby to sit down and put his shoes on. It was frustrating trying to tie the laces up when all he could see was the way Helga's breasts hung behind her shirt, and then attempting to stand up with the heavy thought of the way the skin of Helga's cheek felt like heaven against his lips. Not that he remembered it from last night; but the nights previous when they made out and he actually remembered her scent and her warmth…

Every single thought of Helga screamed through his mind as he stood in the warm stale interior of the parking elevator. It stopped with a shrill buzz and a slight thud, and the doors opened the way to the lower level of the Hotel's underground parking garage, and the odor of tire rubber, oil, and a hint of exhaust assaulted his senses.

The sound of his luggage following him as he pulled it along did nothing to mute the sound of Helga's voice yelling "I'm Sorry" in his mind, even as the sound from the tires hitting the segments in the concrete echoed through the gray cement space

He came upon the Packard parked in a dark corner, threw his luggage in the trunk, slammed the trunk, and then climbed into the driver seat. With the door shut, Arnold gripped the steering wheel, and with his eyes closed, yelled. "AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" He roared like a caged lion, and then slammed his fists into the steering wheel repeatedly, ignoring the dull ache that crawled up his arms every time the meat and bone of his hands met the cold metal of the huge vintage steering wheel. Tears welled up in his eyes at the look of shame on Helga's face.

What had he done? Well, Helga had told him. Everything. She told him while looking unsure of his reaction, as if he was an alien. She looked at him, almost as if she had done some something wrong. Like last night was her fault.

Arnold gripped the steering wheel and pressed his forehead into it. He yelled again until his throat was raw, and he sat staring forward out the window and into the cement wall in front of the car. It was obvious what he had to do, he couldn't be near Helga ever again. He couldn't face her, not after what he had done.

Tears fell down his cheeks, and his heart hurt. "I'm sorry Helga…" He whispered.

Last night he couldn't remember a lot, and he sure as hell didn't remember taking Helga's bra off, but there it lay, on the floor in his mind. It was the prettiest pink he had ever seen, and he knew it belonged on her body. Helga had muttered something after, about how she willingly let Arnold molest her. It wasn't a smile that had graced her lips when she said that, but a wince, like she had been caught.

Arnold shook his head and looked down at his lap. He sniffled. It didn't matter. Helga was Helga. Even if she had willingly let him touch her naked chest, and do other things, even while he was drunk, it still didn't negate the fact that he felt deep down that he had taken advantage of the girl that he had fallen in lo-

There was a gentle tap on the window beside him and Arnold looked up to see Gerald standing outside. He was alone and his face held a hell of a lot of concern. More concern than he had ever seen on his best friends face. Arnold rolled the window down.

"Mind if I get in buddy?"

Arnold broke eye contact with Gerald, and a heartbeat later sucked in a breath. "Um, yeah, uh, sure." He fumbled for the lock and then realized it was already unlocked, so he scooted across the long seat to the passenger side, while Gerald opened the door and got in.

Once in, Gerald rolled up the window, and they sat in silence. Outside a car rounded the corner, and as the sound of the engine faded away, he turned to his best friend. "Phoebe is back in the room with Helga, she kicked me out, so I came to find you. Are you okay?"

Arnold shook his head. "No." He whispered. "Is Helga okay?"

"Whenever I left Phoebe was hugging Helga, and Helga was crying. So, Mind telling me what happened? I never thought in a million years I'd see you cry, let alone Helga Pataki." Gerald shook his head as he drew out Helga's last name as if to emphasize once more the irony of his sentence, and to clarify which Helga he was talking about, even though they only knew one.

Any other time, Arnold would consider Gerald's words, and let the irony soak into his mind, but now… He sighed. "I got drunk, last night, at the concert."

"You? Drunk?" Gerald smiled, but it faded when he noticed how serious Arnold's face was.

"It was on accident. I've never had alcohol before, I had bumped into this other woman, and I think our drinks got mixed up. I downed the entire thing, and I, well, I liked how it tasted."

Arnold looked at Gerald, expecting a smile at the irony of him thinking that something so vile could taste good, but instead Gerald just nodded.

"So, I went back to the concession stand and asked the guy to make me another, I looked away and I didn't even notice what he put in there, but I know what it was. So… Long story short I got drunk, and I don't remember very much after that, just that I…" Arnold caught the words in his throat. He wasn't sure how to say it.

"You, what?" Gerald prodded.

Arnold sighed. "I took advantage of Helga."

His friend arched an eyebrow. "Horizontal mambo or crawling tour of the promised land?"

"What does it matter?"

"Well. One, you can't take back, the other you might be able to mitigate with time and understanding." Gerald finished his sentence and then looked at the rearview mirror at the tail lights of another car that had rounded the corner behind them. "Was Helga drunk too?

"No, she wasn't. And I guess you could say I'm still a virgin. I can't say the same for Helga because I don't know."

Gerald laughed slightly. "Man oh man. I think Helga took advantage of _you_."

"Not if she had to force me off of her. She said, that, I asked her to have sex with me. How could she have taken advantage of me? And why am I talking about this with you?"

"Because I'm your friend and you have no idea how to deal with it?"

Arnold stared at Gerald for a moment and then looked away. "Whenever I started dating Amy, my Grandpa pulled me aside one day and said, Shortman," Arnold raised his voice, attempting to imitate his beloved Grandfather, "whenever you're with a girl, you never raise your hand at her, and you never take advantage of her. I took that advice to heart and, when Amy and I kissed, I never did anything unless she was willing. And we didn't do much. But with Helga. I— I—she, she slept on the couch last night. This morning she was— Oh god what have I done—I should have realized that the soda was spiked. I should have stopped. How could I have been so stupid. I should-"

"I should've this, I should've that." Gerald mocked. "Oh c'mon man. Maybe it hasn't crossed your mind yet but Helga G. Pataki 'aint exactly the type of girl to let a guy take advantage of her like that. She'd have his ball sack twisted around his legs and tied into a knot while she forced him to sing 'I'm a little teapot.' She's not a weakling. Of all the things I've said about her, that isn't one of them. I think she let you get that far."

"But-"

"And no buts. This entire trip you and Helga somehow, against the laws of the known universe, became really close. Yet you dance around each other constantly. You're hot, you're cold, you're flirting or you're at each other's' throats. I saw you and Helga dance at that club. I saw you flirt with her. And don't pretend like you two haven't kissed at all. And now you tell me that you took advantage of Helga when you were drunk and she wasn't. What gives man?"

"I'm afraid."

"Of what?" Gerald laughed and held out his palms. "Of hurting Helga? Or yourself? Haven't you been listening to me?"

"Yes! But I… I…" Arnold yelled, and then caught himself, he looked away. "Sorry."

Silence ensued, and then Gerald rapped his knuckles on the bottom of the steering wheel. "Do you love Helga?"

Arnold's heart leapt like a startled grasshopper at that question, at those words 'love' and 'Helga' so tightly together. He realized he should just get it out into the open. Admit it to someone. "Yes."

"Mmmm mmm mmm." Gerald shook his head. "I never thought I'd see the day. Remember when Stinky said he liked Helga and you climbed the playground equipment."

Arnold shook his head and looked at Gerald with a quirk in his eyebrow. "What does that have to do with this?"

"Nothin' man. It's just… If you love Helga then that's your prerogative. You can't help who you fall in love with. And despite what it may seem like, Helga has my respect, so I'm cool with this."

"Why?"

Gerald nudged Arnold's shoulder with his fist. "My girlfriend treats her like a sister, and my best friend has the hots for her, if she were truly as vile as she lets people believe, then that wouldn't be possible. She also wouldn't be upstairs crying over you right now. I think the two of you need to seriously calm the hell down and just admit to each other your feelings. Because if you don't, you'll never know, and this'll just keep happening."

Arnold shook his head and smiled slightly at Gerald. The headache from his hangover was still there, but as time went, he found it easier to ignore. "You are wise beyond your years."

"Nah, I'm just a good actor. I'm gonna head back up. We gotta get packed and check out. Will you be okay?"

Arnold nodded. "I'd appreciate it if this stayed secret."

Gerald closed his eyes and shook his head while he crossed his heart. "I never saw that grown man cry your honor, I swear it." He then opened the car door and stepped out.

"Gerald?"

Gerald looked back into the car at his friend. "Yep?"

"Thanks."

"No problem buddy. See you soon." Gerald closed the door and walked away.

Arnold looked back at the cement wall, and sighed. Regardless of his feelings for Helga, he knew he had to talk this out. Despite Gerald's optimism, this was going to get worse before it got better. He just knew it. Last night couldn't be washed away, and he'd have to deal with it, with Helga. That was going to hurt.

He drew in a breath, closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples with his fingers. "I'm in love with a Pataki. Oh man I'm screwed up."

X X X

Back in Helga and Arnold's hotel room, Phoebe sat on the couch beside Helga, rubbing her friend's back soothingly as Helga sobbed. "And...and then...he...he just...left without a word..." The blonde cried into her hands. In her left hand she grasped her pink bra as tightly as possible.

When Phoebe and Gerald walked in to the hotel room after the untold moments it took for an unresponsive Helga to let them in, Phoebe had been the first to follow Helga around the corner of the bed, and upon spotting it laying there on the floor, broken clasp and all, scooped the pink lace up into her hand and held it close away from Gerald's view.

It was obvious to her that whatever had Helga so upset involved, at least partially, the undergarment on the floor. She had immediately turned on heel, placed her other hand gently on over her boyfriend's heart and whispered. "Please leave."

It only took Phoebe a moment of looking into her boyfriend's dark eyes, a power that she had only just recently realized she had, for him to nod at her and place a hand over hers to give it a squeeze before he obeyed. He only paused momentarily as Phoebe sat down and embraced Helga. Gerald saw Helga break down into a fit of sobs while Phoebe hugged her close and whispered "shhh" into her ear. He left, letting the door close softly behind him, leaving Phoebe to tend to her 'sister.'

"Oh Helga, I'm...I'm sorry." Phoebe murmured, after pondering the story that Helga revealed to her about the night before.

"But I deserved it, Pheebs. I really deserved it. Sure we didn't have sex, but I made out with him, I let him touch me... And-and let him… "Helga squinted her eyes shut and fresh tears fell. "I-I know it was wrong but... I just... Oh Phoebs, I love him so much..."

"I know you do." Phoebe smiled sadly at Helga. She remembered a time long ago whenever Helga had finally stopped referring to Arnold exclusively as Ice Cream around her and finally admitted it to her. They were sleeping over at Helga's house, and she could still remember the insecurity in Helga's voice just as they were about to fall to sleep '_You__know__I__love__Arnold,__right,__Phoebs?__"_

"I pushed him for the last time..."

There was that phrase. '_Last__time.__' _No. Phoebe would have none of that. She looked at Helga and hugged her again, even tighter.

"Don't you dare say that because you know it isn't true." She spoke lowly into Helga's ear.

"B-but. Phoebe, I-"

"No buts." Phoebe sighed; a tear fell from her eye. "Do you think that maybe it isn't you he's mad at?"

Helga turned in Phoebe's embrace and looked at her friend. Phoebe loosened her grip on Helga and watched her face carefully. She remembered back in preschool, one of the reasons she found it so easy to be entranced by this pushy, snotty, bully of a kid; she always had the most disarming blue eyes.

Phoebe smiled. "Think about it, Arnold isn't the type of guy who would pressure a girl to have sex with him, he's noble, kind, and caring. I think he's mad at himself more than anything."

Helga looked down and away, at the bed. "I know that, Phoebs...I know he'd never do that to a girl. But no way is he mad at himself. You should've seen the way he just walked out!" She shook her head, her voice caught in her throat. "He hates me, Phoebs. I took advantage of him, I...I just...I couldn't stop myself. I've _made__out_ with him more than once on this trip! We made out a few times since two days ago when we kissed that night. And yesterday he said we shouldn't do that, and now... Look what I've done!" She yelled as she held her broken pink bra in front of Phoebes face.

Phoebe shook her head and tried to disagree when Helga stood up. She let the bra drop out of her hand and onto Phoebe's lap, while she paced angrily. "I let him in. Phoebe. I let him in to my personal space. I kissed him and, and I, let him suck on my—and, I, I-." Helga hiccupped and screwed her eyes shut while she stood there in the center of the hotel room. She wanted to yell and scream. She wanted to run away. She wanted to go back in time and reset this entire thing and just go back to walking around a blind corner and into Arnold. She wanted to blurt out his name in surprise, then correct herself, and push Arnold out of the way only to swoon about him moments later in a poetic frenzy.

She wanted to be younger and in charge, and she wanted her shell back. She looked at Phoebe. "I let him get to close." She whispered.

"Oh bull shit!" Phoebe said a little louder than she wanted. But it got Helga's attention. She stood there in the center of the hotel room, while Phoebe sat on the couch stock still, wringing the life out of Helga's bra in her hands. She hadn't even noticed she was doing so until she looked down. She blushed and sat the pink lace beside her, before she looked back up at Helga.

"Do you want to know what I've seen this past week? Despite everything that's happened there's been these fleeting little moments, Helga, where I've noticed that your dream is coming true. Thanks to this trip you've never been so close to Arnold. You've shared a hotel room without going after each other's throats. You've danced and laughed together. Had pictures taken of the two of you. You've kissed, and dare I say it probably more."

Helga shook her head but Phoebe remained strong. "All you needed was a chance Helga, away from everything, and time alone with Arnold. And now you're telling me, over a little misunderstanding, that you're going to crawl right back into your turtle shell in order to pretend like it never happened?"

"But-"

"I love you. You'll never know how much your friendship means to me. All that we've shared. You've given me so much friendship and you've stuck up for me when the going got tough. You gave me the strength I needed to finally tell Gerald how I really felt. You never need to ask me why I've done so much for you; you only need to look at yourself in the mirror to understand why."

Phoebe watched Helga's stare, at her shocked eyes, it empowered her. She wagered Helga needed to hear this. The truth would hurt, she needed to know.

Helga sobbed and looked away from Phoebe, at the world outside the window. But Phoebe persisted. She stood up. "And now you tell me that you're going to deny Arnold, you're going to deny Ice Cream, a chance to see who you really are on the inside. You're going to deny him the chance to see and truly fall in love with the same beautiful woman that I've seen for oh so long. And you're going to hide under a rock and deny yourself a chance to truly be loved."

Phoebe shook her head and laughed. "Helga. I'm sorry, but you really are a pathetic coward if you run away from this."

X X X

**Editor's Note: Hey everyone. Pyrex Shards reporting in. I know there was a long wait between the last chapter and this one. I apologize for the delays. **

**Chapter nine is admittedly shorter than its brethren, but I felt after looking at the original material that there were some scenes that belonged in later chapters, so I decided to throw everyone something a little lighter to read this time around. These are two scenes that needed to be together as their own chapter, I felt, in order to let the reader know what is going on with both Arnold and Helga after what I refer to as "that one night."**

**So there you have it. Reviews are appreciated. Have a good week everyone!**

**10/30/2011**


	11. The Aftermath

**Road Trip**

**The Aftermath**

**BrokenRose24 here, you may notice the style of this story has changed, due to the fact that Pyrex Shards ditched being a beta to this story (He has his own reasons as well as I do) I have decided to post the last remaining chapters to finally end this story which means the plot MIGHT NOT match the plot Pyrex Shards had posted. When he was a beta he would change the story around and add his own personal touches to the story. However since there hasn't been any updates and since people always demand an ending to this story, I have decided to give you guys the ending but sadly you will have to have it Un-beta'd and the way it was Originally. Due to some conflicts I no longer work with Nintendogal55 nor Pyrex Shards. I hope you all will understand.**

**At least I gave you an ending, too bad it isn't the perfect one but it is an ending none the less. Please Enjoy. **

_I feel like I'm not qualified and I'm just not ready to face Helga yet._

He saw Phoebe hugging Gerald, the blonde boy approach their carrying the girl he loved in his arms.

Gerald notice the sound of footsteps, turning his head to see his friend, Phoebe lift her head from Gerald's chest and gasp.

"A gang…tried to…they tried to…" feeling a lump in his throat, he knew he couldn't utter the words. "To..."

"Speak up man, what happened?" Gerald asked in concern.

"...To...violate her..." Was all he could muster. "Please take care of her."

Phoebe nodded, carefully taking her best friend into her arms. "I will, don't worry. You two get some sleep."

"No, you and Gerald sleep, I'll be up and alert in case those guys come back and try anything." Sitting on the trunk of the car and glazing at the stars in complete sadness.

_Helga I'm sorry._

XXXXXXXX

The sun was rising, the blonde boy felt tired but knew he'd be able to get some sleep as soon as they got their car fixed. Looking down at the pictures in his hand, a small smile formed when looking at how happy Helga looked kissing him, and the photo of how happy she looked standing next to him back at the look out Vancouver. He heard movement in the car and knew they were getting up, Helga was still being held on Phoebe who slept with her best friend all night.

Things were going to be difficult.

_If I didn't fight with her she wouldn't have been violated like that, I should have never let her go, I was angry at her for every wrong thing she did instead of remembering every good thing she did. She helped my parents in San Lorenzo, she helped me save the neibourhood. Found my hat, told me that Summer was just using me. Every girlfriend I ever had was trying to get with me because I was a bit popluar but of course I didn't think of that. Amy cheated on me and I thought she was the one and even when Helga warned me I still treated her as if she really were crazy. I guess I'm the crazy one, I never knew I had feelings for her and it was stupid of me denying them, it wasn't fair to her or me. I'm…in love with…Helga G. Pataki. I love her. But now it's too late._

XXXXXX

Helga stirred, feeling tender pain on her chest, and yawned as the light glare of the sun came through the windows. The sun was rising, it was morning. For a moment, she didn't know where she was. Thin arms were around her, and as she opened her eyes, she saw Phoebe, waking up slowly, was the one holding her gently.

What had happened last night?

"Helga?" Phoebe croaked, her voice hoarse from sleep. "You awake?"

"Mm...yeah." Helga said groggily, yawning again before blinking her vision to focus. "What...what happened last night?"

"Arnold said you were…violated, do you remember anything at all?" Tears pour down her cheeks onto Helga's.

Helga paused, not remembering so much. She seemed to remember being thrown to the ground, pain inflicted on her chest, and feeling as if she were going to slip away from the world. But then something had happened, she'd heard punches and kicks, someone fighting off the men who were attempting to violate her. Then she saw green eyes, a football head, and cornflower hair, that was all she could remember before passing out.

"...Yeah, I remember a bit. ...Did Arnold save me?"

"Yes Helga he did, he carried you here, he's been up all night watching over us while we sleep."

_He did that...he saved me from being raped, and watched over us... And I didn't even deserve it. Why did he do that? He shouldn't have done that._ Helga sat up, looking out the window, and then down at her lap. "...I made a terrible mistake, Pheebs. I didn't deserve to be saved."

"Helga!" Phoebe cup Helga's face. "Listen you did deserve to be saved, you're not a monster or anything, yes you fought with Arnold but it was both your faults, and I think it's best if you both talked out your problems."

"What can I say? He _hates_ me. ...And rightfully so. All I've done was torture him. He just saved me because he's Arnold and he wouldn't let such a thing happen under his watch. He told me himself he didn't want me around! I... I can't take it, Phoebe. I can't take hurting him anymore."

"Helga." a deep voice called out, lying in the back seat with his leg bend on the seat, the other leg on the other leg firmly on the floor. One arm covering his face.

"Stop getting into this self pity bullshit, my boy Arnold just said those things because he was mad just like you said what you did to him. Phoebe's right it's both of your faults and instead of solving the problem you want to run away. I've never known you as someone who runs away. I've played ignorant this entire trip pretending I didn't notice the stares or those "secret" moments when you both kissed but I'm not going to sit here and let you both hurt each other. Look I may have not liked you much from the beginning but I do know that you've gone some pretty cool things for him, Amy was cheating on him but no one had the heart to tell him, not even me. Now all of a sudden Arnold is returning his feelings towards you but it's pretty hard to admit you like someone who you once viewed as the villain. So he backs away from his feelings, childish? Yeah, stupid? Hell yeah. Then yesterday he actually punched a wall outside of the alley of the hotel because he felt so disgusted with himself, Shit I'd do the same if I thought I forced Phoebe to do something sexual she didn't want. Or so that's what Arnold believed. He's the type of guy who believes the golden rules we were taught when we were younger. Never hit a woman and never force yourself on a woman. Again you both need to act more mature and like adults and talk to each other, although Phoebe and I are not going to get in this anymore because it's all up to you both."

Phoebe gave a nod. "...He's right, Helga. You were both dealt with a hand of cards. It's up to you whether or not you want to play them."

A few minutes of silence passed. Not a sound was heard.

It wasn't until the back door opened, movement was made, then the back door closed, and Gerald sat up, opening his eyes in time to see Helga having gotten out of the car and going toward Arnold.

"Well babe, looks like it's time they did the right thing."

"I hope so, Gerald."

XXX

Our protagonist is thinking to himself in the park nearby their car. he doesn't want to say it, he's pretty much given up.

_This is stupid, we're never going to see eye to eye._

Arnold sighed and put the Photos back into his bookbag and walks back to the car, and sees her there, She turns seeing him walking towards her

Now the two stood near each other, neither of them speaking a word. Helga tried to stand her ground and seem cool and confident, but it faltered a bit at the pain on her breasts, which ignited when her shirt brushed them. She didn't know where to begin, or to be the one to break the silence. Hell, it was hard to even look in his direction.

Now they both sit in the car...doing nothing. Not even looking at each other.

...Another car drives by.

It's so quiet.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly not looking at her.

Her heart skipped, and she managed a nod, not looking at him. "...Yeah, I'm fine. My chest just hurts, that's all."

"Did you…see how bad it looked, do you cuts or anything, maybe you should clean them so you won't get an infection." Worried about her being cut on her breast, still not looking in her direction and surprisingly he wasn't blushing, just sad.

"Nah, they're just bruised and sore. No open cuts or anything." Helga said, checking a moment just to be sure, wincing a bit at the pain. "...And um, well, for what it's worth, thank you...for saving me."

He hesitates, not sure what to say, in fear of bringing back what she said last night. So instead, he goes to be brief but sincere.

"You're welcome but please don't thank me Helga."

The wind blew at his cornflower hair along with hers. In the corner of his eye he saw Helga shivering. Taking off his jacket and giving it to her. "It's my fault you got hurt, I shouldn't have said any of that stuff."

"Arnold, I was the one who walked away. I did the stupid thing. It wasn't your fault. It was mine. I...I let my pride and immaturity get the best of me and I did a stupid thing. It was my own actions that resulted in this." She held his jacket to her for a moment, inhaling his scent, and put it on.

Both notice Phoebe and Gerald getting out of the car. "Hey man, we're going to sit on the swings" Phoebe nodded her head.

The message was clear to the two blondes "We're leaving so you can talk it out"

"It's getting cold, let's go inside the car for a bit" Arnold suggest, Helga stood up carefully and climbs into the passenger's side while Arnold sat at the driver's seat.

She shift in her seat a bit and felt pain shot up when she tried to bring her legs up on the sit, her knee touched her chest. "ow" she wince at the pain

Concern struck through him and he wanted to know if she was all right, but he decided against it.

Instead, he just exhales and say.

"Helga you win"

"You think almost getting raped wins? I don't want to know your opinion about losing" she rolled her eyes and looked out the window.

He gripped the steering wheel in irritation, but he relaxed after a moment.

"That's not what I meant. What I meant was, I'm done. I won't bother you anymore. If my being around you and even helping you really offends you so much, then who am I to go against your wishes? Whatever you want me to do I'll do it.

"I do all that I do because I really care about you. I'm not trying to be some kind of hero and save the world. I help people because that's who I am. And now I realize that there are people who don't want help. I keep seeing you as the villain who always loved to pick on me instead of seeing all the good things you've done for me, like reunite me with my parents and so many other things you've done. I shouldn't have said those things I said last night, you're not a plague Helga, I was just too upset and hurt. This whole trip I've been confused about my feelings towards you."

They sat in complete silence.

"...Arnold, can I be honest with you?"

Feeling a bit worried about what she might say

"Sure."

Taking a deep breath, Helga decided to just come out with it, tell him everything, the whole truth. She just had to accept the results.

"...I'm in love with you. I was telling you the truth when I first confessed back on the rooftop of the FTi building. I lied when I took it back. I don't hate you, I never hated you. I...I picked on you all those times because of my pride, because I didn't want you to know that I loved you. And I regret that with all my being. That's why I helped you all those times. That's why I did those things for you, and I've done things you don't know about for you. Because I love you. ...I've always loved you. I love you more than anything, and I hate myself for the way I've treated you. That's why I kissed you over the past couple of days. I was scared in letting you know how I felt, I tried to cover it up, but it was hard to do.

"...And that night you were drunk, and trying to have sex with me, I wanted you so bad. But I couldn't do that to you. I didn't want take advantage of you in your drunken, vulnerable state. You scared me because I loved you and I wanted to do the right thing, because I know if I gave in, you would have never forgiven me. And...I love you way too much to do that kind of thing to you." Taking a deep breath, she finally looked at him. "And that's it. I love you Arnold. I don't expect you to feel the same way, and frankly I don't deserve you. I just wanted you to know how I felt."

She turned away then, waiting for the rejection. Waiting.

It hurt when he got out of the car, she began release the tears from her eyes

_He rejected me…_

Her heart stopped when she heard her door open and Arnold was standing there. His lips now on hers, careful not to get any closer, afraid he might press against her tender swollen breast. Her eyes widened in shock as she sat frozen, unable to comprehend what was happening. All she felt were his lips. On hers. Kissing her.

More tears streamed down her face as she brought her hands up to his neck, angling her head better to kiss back, her eyes closing on their own accord.

_He's kissing me...he's kissing me...does this mean he...?_

_I never realized how much I missed kissing her..._

In fear of hurting her, broking the kiss and staring into her cerulean eyes.

"I was confused because I didn't know how I felt for you, I had a lot of anger and I didn't want to admit myself how I felt. Sorry if this isn't the best place to ask you."

Her heart pounded in her heart, throat felt dry.

"What's the G stands for in your name?"

Helga felt worried, worried at what his answer was going to be...and now very confused. Why did he need to know that? What kind of question was that in a moment like this?

But, she decided to humour him for now. "Geraldine. My middle name is Geraldine."

"Heh, that's a pretty name…Helga Geraldine Pataki, I love you very much and I had been for years but I repressed my feelings for you, to be honest I can't image you not being here in my life, I've known you since preschool and even then I had a bit of a crush on you believe it or not. I don't want to rush things but you I do want to date you, to give us a chance."

"...You...you mean that?" Her eyes glimmered with more tears, and with hope. She got out of the car, standing before him, her hands on his shoulders. "You want to be with me? Even after everything I've done?"

"Yeah I mean…who else would dress up as my pen pal just to have a date with me?"

Shocked, Helga stared, wide-eyed, for a good half a minute. "...You knew about that? How did you know?"

"I didn't at first but after a few years of seeing you in those random times when you put your hair down, I notice how much you look like her…and Gerald told me one day since we knew the moment he saw you walk into the restaurant. He didn't say anything…like always." he finished feeling a bit annoyed about Gerald keeping it from him.

Of course Gerald is a great friend but when it comes to my romance life he stays clear away from it.

"Arnold, I... I..." Helga blushed, and looked him in the eye. "...Well, if you'll have me, I would love nothing more than to be your girlfriend." Tears streamed down her face.

"Hey." he said wiping the tears from her eyes "I can't have my girlfriend crying, what would people think?" his emerald eyes full of happiness and amusement, wearing a smile that showed his white teeth.

An inescapable giggle came from her and she smiled wide in return, her arms going around his neck. "I'm crying because I'm so happy, you loveable dolt." She kissed him fiercely, holding on tightly, as if afraid he would slip away if she let go.

Her breast pressed against his chest but she didn't care about the pain, all she wanted was the man in her arms.

XXXXXXXX

"I'm glad you won that prize money Arnold but now I feel bad. I mean you used it on the tow drunk and now your using it to pay for my car to be fixed"

"It couldn't be helped Gerald."

"I wish you spent that money on you, always the responsible one."

"Well someone has to."

They were all at the repair shop, Phoebe had called to get the car towed into the shop, and now they were all waiting for the car to be ready.

"You know there is a carnival going on six blocks away, maybe we can go there after we eat some breakfast" Phoebe suggested.

"We need to get a hotel to hold our things" Gerald sighs "It's going to cost us."

"I got it" Arnold said reffering to his prize money. All three friends yelled "NO!"

Blinking in confusion "What? Why not?"

"You've already paid for enough Arnold"

"So it's my money and Helga's."

"Exactly, BOTH of yours!" Gerald insisted. "She should have some say. Look, we'll pay for that, it's okay."

"Gerald, you paid for most of this trip and you let us come along when you and Phoebe could have gone yourself. Let me."

"No man. You've done enough."

"What are we going to do then? We don't know how long it'll take for the guy to fix the car, we need to sleep somewhere"

Helga spoke up "Listen, we'll pay for the hotel end of story"

"How about this, you pay for the hotel and we'll owe you both." Gerald said not wanting to feel like a slimeball for taking their money. It was HIS car Arnold is paying for to get repaired.

Helga looked at Arnold, and they both considered it for a moment.

"Well...if that's what'll get you to shut up about it, then fine."

"Okay, Gerald. It's a deal."

They all shook hands, sealing the deal.

XXXXXX

They all decided to put their things in their rooms, this time Arnold announced "Helga and I are going to have a room together…um…she's my…girlfriend." he said bashfully.

Gerald and Phoebe exchanged excited, knowing grins before looking back to their respective best friends.

"Well all right! About damn time, man!" Gerald laughed. "You guys behave now!"

"Gerald!"

Phoebe giggled. "But really, that's wonderful. I'm glad you two managed to work things out."

"Least now you guys can room together without us worrying if you'll kill each other!"

Helga stuck her tongue out playfully in response before laughing. "Yes, Arnold did speak correctly, we're rooming together now, whether you guys like it or not."

"Oh, I don't believe we have any complaints." Grinned Phoebe.

"Just use Protection."

"GERALD!" Arnold yelled feeling even more embarrassed

Gerald grin raising his eyebrow at the couple. "I mean to have a spare gun in your room since you know how Helga is. What did you think I was suggesting?"

"I do believe they meant that you were implying that they use a condom or some kind of alternative protection if they were to consummate their relationship." Phoebe explained.

Looking at the newly formed couple, seeing their red faces, he realized it. "I know that…okay so bad joke! But I'm serious, just be careful in case."

"Uh, right. Yeah...don't worry, we'll lock the door and window." Arnold said quickly.

"What he said." Helga said.

"We'll meet up at two O clock since I know you haven't slept, so get some sleep" Gerald said putting his arm around his girlfriend.

"Thanks Gerald, I will"

XXXXXX

Arnold laid on the bed changing channels, nothing good was on and he was very tired but couldn't get himself to be relax enough to sleep.

Meanwhile Helga had finish taking a shower seeing the purple, blue and yellow marks on her tender breasts, which were still sore and bruised. Gently drying them and putting on new clothes, she looked at herself in the mirror, and lowered her shirt once more.

_It'll take FOREVER for them to heal..._ She thought. _But at least that's the only damage that was done to me._

Helga exited the bathroom, and lit up upon seeing her love on the bed, trying to make himself comfortable. She smiled and got into bed, slipping up beside him and snuggling into him.

Putting his arm around her and turning off the television, he turn to the side and snuggle close to her careful about her breasts.

"Last night scared me, I thought…I thought I was too late, one thing puzzles me, why didn't you fight when it happen? When I got close I saw you fighting but then you had this look on your face."

"Huh? Oh...that. ...Well, from what I remember, I guess I...just kind of felt that it was over for me. That there was nothing I could do, and that no one cared. That no one would care, that the world would go just fine if I was gone. I was so convinced everyone hated me."

"Even if we ever break up I don't want you to ever think that, I'll still love you and want you to have the best life you can have. You have Phoebe there with you and of course my family." Stroking her hair as he thought about his family's reaction to the fact that he was dating her. "Grandpa is going to have a field day of 'I told you so'."

A chuckle escaped Helga as she closed her eyes, relaxing against him. "Whatever you say, Arnold."

"First you steal my food, and then you steal my line?"

They both laughed at that.

He slowly got up and grabbed something from his bag, plopping on the bed and getting back into the position he was in, putting his arm back around her.

"I need to make you a copy of this." he said showing her the pictures.

Looking at the pictures, Helga giggled at a few of them, and then her eyes widened upon seeing one particular picture. The photo of them kissing on the boat near the waterfalls.

"Oh my God...she _didn't_..."

"Yeah I thought it had to be Phoebe too, it's actually a very…" smiling wide and dropping his voice low, whispering in her ear. "Romantic."

A blush settled on her cheeks and her heart skipped at his gestured before she looked back at the picture. Despite what had happened at the time and after, it was very romantic looking, since they were kissing as if they really loved each other. "...Yeah, it is. It really is."

"I love you." he whispers into her ear.

"I love you, too." She whispered back, leaning up to meet his lips. "You know, all things considered and despite everything rough that's happened, I'm sure glad we went on this road trip."

"Although I'd love to cut the part where you got…well anyway, maybe this was just a big lesson to be learned. I have to let go of my anger towards you and you had to let go of your pride."

"Makes sense. Guess it was just one big nudge in the right direction. And hey, we did have a lot of fun, didn't we?"

"Yeah I guess we did but right now…I want sleep." he said half joking as he felt himself fall to sleep, Helga still in his arms, her wonderful scent was putting him to sleep.

"Me too. Night, Arnold." She kissed his cheek and snuggled more into him, closing her eyes.

~End of Chapter~


	12. Fun on the Road Home

**Road Trip**

**Fun on the Road Home**

**BrokenRose24 here, you may notice the style of this story has changed, due to the fact that Pyrex Shards ditched being a beta to this story (He has his own reasons as well as I do) I have decided to post the last remaining chapters to finally end this story which means the plot MIGHT NOT match the plot Pyrex Shards had posted. When he was a beta he would change the story around and add his own personal touches to the story. However since there hasn't been any updates and since people always demand an ending to this story, I have decided to give you guys the ending but sadly you will have to have it Un-beta'd and the way it was Originally. Due to some conflicts I no longer work with Nintendogal55 nor Pyrex Shards. I hope you all will understand.**

**At least I gave you an ending, too bad it isn't the perfect one but it is an ending none the less. Please Enjoy. **

"Have fun, you crazy lovebirds! We'll meet back here at two so we can get back on the road before it gets dark!" Gerald called to his and Phoebe's respective best friends as they walked off.

"Okay, Gerald!" Arnold called back to him.

Gerald laughed and brought his arm around Phoebe, shaking his head. "They're gonna be just fine."

"I concur, Gerald." Phoebe giggled. "Shall we get started, then?"

"You bet, babe! Let's go."

The quartet were now at the carnival that was located not far from the Motel they were staying at and where the car had been on repair.

At two o'clock the gang all met up after Arnold had gotten a few hours of asleep, they grabbed a few pre-made sandwiches and were off to the carnival before heading back out on the road.

They weren't entirely far from Hillwood at this point. Still a long drive, but no more than another day or two, they would be checking out of the hotel as soon as they all had some fun at the carnival.

So far, things were going very well, especially ever since Arnold and Helga finally resolved everything between them and got together as a couple. They didn't argue like before and nor did any awkward silences occur. The road trip had taken a turn for the better, and they all couldn't be happier for it.

As Helga had said, it was all a big nudge in the right direction.

XXX

"Step right up young man and win that lovely young lady a prize, all you have to do is hit the spaceship"

Arnold turns to Helga "would you like me to win you something?"

"I don't know, think you can do it?" Helga gave a playful smirk. "I sure wouldn't mind seeing you try, Football Head."

"Hey, it's been a while since you said that. I was starting to think you loved me or something."

She burst into laughter, slapping his shoulder. "Just go and play the game, you loveable dolt."

He paid the man who seemed a bit cocky, already knowing this game was rigged but he knew a way how to win at classic plate toss carnival game, objective of this game is tossing a dime falling in the center of a plate.

Plates are slick and often made more so with petroleum jelly or vegetable oil, so the trick to winning is to slow down the trajectory of the dime to ensure that it lands and stops on the plate.

_The first and easiest tactic for winning the plate toss is to toss the coin high with a sharp angle and absolutely no spin so that it falls flat onto the plate. The other more difficult trick is to practice bouncing the dime_, _so that it first hits the table before jumping into the plate._

The man was shock as he watched the young man defeat his game.

"But...ah...you can't...you cheated." the older man said

"Everyone here watched me win it fair and square, Helga which stuff animal do you want?"

"Mmm..." Helga scanned the stuffed animals, and pointed to one. "I want that puppy."

The man took down the puppy feeling very angry and cheated by these young punks. "here you go" he said giving Arnold the stuffed puppy.

"Here Helga, come on let's go on some ride" they walked for a few minutes trying to decide which ride they wanted to go to.

"How about the enormous drop?"

"Sure I'm game"

They waited in the long line feeling a bit bored "I remember last time I was in a carnival, actually it was the cheese festival and I remember I was trying to woo Lila and-"

"Rule number one Football head, never talk about your exs while being on a date with your current girlfriend"

His eyes widen "I'm sorry Helga but that is my past no matter how much you might not like it. Sure I dated girls but as you can see...they could have my past but right now you have my present." Pulling her closer to him. "And maybe one day you'll be in my future."

Her eyes glimmered and she giggled, smiling. "You're right, hair boy. How do you know always know the right things to say?"

"Just lucky I guess?"

"We may never know." She kissed his cheek, and pulled back. "So, what do you suggest we do next, O Great Football Head?"

"After this ride we can go to The Mighty Avenger ride"

"Isn't that the ride were your upside down during the whole thing?"

"Yeah but if you don't want to go or if it's too scary for you we really don't have to."

"HA! Are you crazy? The fast and scary rides are the best! I have a stomach and nerves of freaking steel! I rode the roller coaster back home in Dino Land SEVEN TIMES once, and I didn't feel at all queasy. Let's go!"

Before he could answer, she grabbed his hand and dragged him off to get in line.

XXXXX

"THAT...WAS...BOSS!" Helga yelled with her arms up.

Arnold laugh along with her "Yeah it was."

They passed by some cotton candy which Arnold stopped and turned around "Do you want some? I haven't had any in years"

"Yeah sure, I want the-"

"Pink one"

"You got it" she said with a flirtatious wink which cause his heart to beat quickly. Giving the man the money and getting one pink and one blue.

They both sat down on the bench, Arnold took a piece of hers and ate it.

"HEY!"

"Hay is for horses Helga."

"Oh let me guess, payback?"

"Maybe."

"Screw you."

"When?"

"Arnold!"

"What?"

Laughing, Helga slapped his shoulder. "You slay me, love. You slay me."

"Or was I being serious when asking when?"

Now her eyes widened with shock, turning toward him just as she tore off some more of her cotton candy, some of it poking out her mouth.

Taking his chance now, Arnold lean down to ate the cotton candy that had been poking from her mouth, then giving her a very sensual kiss. Her lips open to him but before he could drown into their kisses he remembered that they were in a public place. Pulling away and smilimg

"I was joking."

"...Uh, yeah! Yeah! I knew that. Of course I knew that. Just making sure you were paying attention, Football Head, and God knows you sure do. Yep, mm-hmm." Still she was dazed and had a goofy grin on her face from his affectionate gesture. Even though they'd kissed quite a few times in the past few days, and had been a couple for a while now, so it was nothing new, it was still something to get used to, and turned her legs into jello.

Arnold broke a piece of his cotton candy and place it against her lips. Helga looked at that cross-eyed, and then took it into her mouth, snickering through her nose

After they finished their treat, they both decided to go to the tunnel of love.

XXXXX

They both got into the boat, this tunnel of love was unlike the one in Hillwood, the ride is longer and soft music played from the speakers built in.

"So um...I am your first boyfriend right?"

"First _real_ boyfriend...since the other jerks I dated just wanted to get into my pants and were ass cracks, yeah, they don't count."

"I want to do everything right in dating you, I don't want to pressure you into doing whatever you don't want, you deserve a lot and well I'm going to do my best to be a good boyfriend to you."

Helga beamed and snuggled against him, letting out a soft swoon as a big smile broke out on her face. "Oh Arnold, you're too much. But all that aside, you bet I'm going to do my best to be a good girlfriend to you. It'll take time to adapt and for me to kinda...well, you know, let go of my older tendencies, but I'll try. For you, if not for me, okay?"

"Okay, so um...not to sound rude or anything but how is your...injuries? have they been hurting?"

"Eh, they're still tender and it stings a little when I touch them or when my shirt or bra brushes over them, but a lot better than before. I'll be just fine."

"When we get to the hotel you should put some ice on it or something, I'm not well educated on um...how to heal that area but I think when we go back to Hillwood you should go see a doctor" He was worried for her safety, wishing there was something he could do to help her.

"You worry too much, love. But okay, if it'll set your mind at ease, I guess it would be best if I saw a doctor by the time we get back to the city. Olga keeps telling me to get them examined by a professional, anyway."

"Good then."

A devilish smirk came to her face. "You know...maybe once they're better, I'll let _you_ examine them..."

Blushing hard and trying to calm down his beating heart "That's not funny Helga, you know I don't want to rush into sex with you yet"

"So you're saying you wouldn't want to cop-a-feel without me sleeping and without clothes on this time?"

He stood very quite although his face turn even more red.

_Although none of my exes used to be this sexual with me since I always wanted to wait...still Helga is like the devil herself...darn temptress..._

"What's wrong my love...did I strike a cord?"

"You're going to regret teasing on me so much."

"Am I? Well, how so?"

His mouth was suddenly on hers, his tongue played along with hers. To Helga it felt like a deja-vu but to Arnold it felt like the first time. Her hands fisted into his hair and she kissed back, her tongue dueling along with his. She was then brought onto his lap, surprising her, but ultimately pleasing.

His hands rubbing up and down her back, his hand slips inside of her shirt just to feel how warm and soft she felt. Kissing her was like drowning, it made your heart beat quickly but you knew you could die from it.

_Greatest death ever._

A moan escaped Helga at the feel of his hands on her skin, her arms lowered to wrap around his neck, and they kissed deeper.

Suddenly, there was a bright light shining in, indicating that they were soon to exit the tunnel.

Pulling away from her "The rides almost ending"

"Depends on which one you're talking about."

XXXX

A little later, they were now on the ferris wheel, enjoying the view of the colourful and wide spread of the carnival below them, as well as the views of the open land stretching out far as the eye could see, with little seemingly toy-sized buildings of the nearby town.

"Hey look, I see Gerald and Phoebe down there." Helga pointed down toward the "little" people. "They're coming out of the House of Mirrors."

"We should go there next." he pulled out his camera.

"I didn't know you brought your camera."

"Well why not? This IS our first date."

"Oh, so that's it..." She turned away for a moment and then looked back in the other direction when the flash went off. "Hey! Did you just take a picture of me?"

"No." His grin was obviously indicating he was lying.

"You are a lying liar who lies."

Blinking slowly "Yeah that's why they call someone a liar."

"That's how I say it." Winked the young blonde woman. "Man, is it hot out here?" She took off her black sweater, revealing the pink tank top she was wearing underneath, and no bra. "Hey, I know, here's a dorky picture of me you can take." She tied the sleeves of her sweater around her neck so that the garment would hang over her shoulders and down her back.

Unable to look away from her breast, the top of it was showing, yellow, purple and blue marks on them. Trying to not let that bother him, he smiles and take the picture of her goofy pose.

"Dorky McDork Dork!" She said in a geeky, squeaky voice and made a silly face, which he also took a photo of.

"You're too much you know that?" he said chuckling at her antics.

"I know." Helga said with a mild shrug and smiled. "What can I say, I guess I just can't help but feel the way I do now."

"Come here" she fixed her shirt sliding closer to him in the seat. Taking a picture of them smiling with their heads close to each other, he decided to take another one but this time he sneak a kiss to her cheek

She blushed at that, but smiled widely as he did so, giggling a little. It reminded her of the time he had licked her cheek back during the waterfall adventure in Minter Gardens, then finally he did it.

Lick.

"Arnold!"

"What's wrong with you?" he acted innocent.

"You licked me again! Don't you deny it..." She playfully narrowed her eyes. "I'm on to you..."

Just for good measure...

Lick.

"If you lick me one more time, you're going to regret it..."

Lick.

Lick.

Lick.

...Lick.

That did it. But the ride had ended, and they had to disembark. But that didn't stop her. Helga grabbed his hand and dragged him off somewhere.

He made no protest, but wondered what she was doing.

It wasn't until they came behind a building that she pinned him to the wall, and proceeded to make out with him, fiercely, even pressing her body up against him sensually. It did hurt her breasts a bit, but she didn't even care.

Arnold sank into the kiss, their mouths clinging before finally parting, Arnold's eyes backlit with flame that Helga found exciting.

Tentatively, Arnold raised his hand and touched her lips, his fingers tracing their shape as if committing them to his memory. Capturing her lips again as he lay on hand against the wall of the building. Helga's legs came up, wrapping around his waist, her arms around his neck as she kissed back with ferocity and hungry passion.

"Helga…this is not…the place" he warned seeing the giggling faces of some children looking at them.

"Huh?" She followed his gaze, and blushed. "Oh...um, yeah. Sorry, got carried away." _I can't help it, it feels like such a new thing to be able to kiss and touch him freely like this...he's my BOYFRIEND now...I still can't believe it... Oh God I might faint..._ "C'mon, let's go find something else to do. We've still got two hours to kill before we gotta meet up with Pheebs and Geraldo."

He turned around but was shocked to feel her weight on his back.

"H-H-Helga what are you doing?"

"Piggyback ride now Giddyup!"

XXXXX

"Ah man,that was sooooo fun." Gerald said in playful sarcasm as he and Phoebe walked off from the Merry-Go-Round.

"Oh stop it, you know you enjoyed it." Phoebe giggled, and looked at her watch. "Ah, it's 8:23PM, we should go to the meeting point now."

"Already? Man, time doesn't just fly, it freaking jets!"

"When you're caught up in something that doesn't involve thinking about what time it is, your brain loses focus on the timing and you can end up doing something for hours, even if it only feels like a few minutes, maybe longer."

Gerald chuckled and held her hand in his, lacing their fingers as they came to the ticket booth, right where the designated meeting point was.

"That's what I love about you, babe. Always smart and summing things up for us dumb ass folk."

"Now Gerald, you are not dumb." Phoebe chided gently.

"Oh, I beg to differ."

The couple turned around, coming to see their respective best friends now behind them, with a disgruntled but definitely happy Arnold giving Helga a piggyback yet again, as he had been doing for the past hour at times when she wanted one.

"Real funny." Gerald rolled his eyes. "You guys ready to hit the road?"

"Yeah let's go picked up our bags and head out."

"I'm glad you got some sleep buddy"

"Why?"

"Because you're driving" he said handing him the keys.

"…Great"

XXXXXXX

"Stop Helga." laughing before saying it again "Stop."

"I'll stop when I feel like it." Helga grinned, and poked him again.

"Come on, really, quit it."

Poke.

Poke.

Poke.

"Seriously, come on."

Poke.

Poke.

...Poke.

"If you don't stop it, I swear I will pull over this car and get you."

"Okay." She grinned innocently.

A few minutes passed, and then...

Poke.

Poke.

Both Phoebe and Gerald were asleep in the car when Arnold pulled over. Taking off his seat belt and walking to Helga's door.

_Well, I'm dead. ...Especially since he's grown a backbone over the years. This should be interesting._

Opening the door and putting his index finger over his lips "shh" He picked her up bridal style shutting the door. They were parked by a food store, Arnold felt a bit thirsty plus he wanted to give his girlfriend some pay back.

As they got a bit away from the car he begin to tickle her. "So Ms. Pataki, you wouldn't stop poking me? How does it feel to be tickled to death?" She bend down trying to get free but only causing herself to fall carefully on the ground while Arnold held her still ticking her sides. He grab both of her arms with one hand holding them together, his other hand tickled her.

"Will you surrender?"

"NEVER!" she cried while laughing

"How long can you last I wonder"

"Stop!"

"Stop? Okay answer some questions for me, who is the coolest guy you know?"

"Hahahahaahaha! Stoooop!"

"Come on, answer me."

"Y-Y...You are...! Hahaha! Now stop it!"

His smile faded as he looked serious, still holding her hands above her head.

"Who loves you?"

Taking some breaths, she found her voice and felt unable to believe she was saying this, after 14 long years.

"...You do."

"I'm glad you believe it now because I do." his eyes lowers down, starting into her eyes and letting go of her wrist. Lowering himself for one sweet kiss. His kiss was tender and spoke many volumes, his love for her, the strength he felt while saying them and his complete loyalty to her.

Her heart pounded, she could feel the emotions expressed in his kiss, which was sweet, tender but with a bit of passion. It said everything. She kissed back, not taking over the kiss but letting it take over her, as she brought one hand up to gently run through his hair.

_He loves me...he really loves me...he _loves _me...he loves _me..._if this is a dream, I don't want to wake up..._

Their lips moves, both giving tender small kisses to the other, Arnold slowly pulls away knowing he couldn't handle it if she began giving him her "famous" passionate kisses.

Standing up and helping her onto her feet, he put his arm around her "Let's get something to drink and maybe some snacks, that's really why I stopped in the first place, the second was giving you a bit of payback." he said with a wink.

Helga laughed, bringing her arms around his torso. "If that's your definition of payback, then bring it on, Romeo."

Arnold held her hand stopping her from walking in the store, his face serious as his emerald eyes stares intensely at her beautiful widen cerulean eyes. Lifting her hand up to his soft velvet like lips.

"If I profane with my unworthiest hand" He lift her hand up to place another kiss on her wrist.

"This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this" Placing another kiss below her wrist. His eyes still staring at her.

"My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand" another kiss on the crook of her arm. Gently sucking on it and closing his eyes before letting it go.

"To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."

With a smile, she continued with Juliet's line, remembering the play back in fourth grade when they were Romeo and Juliet, and amazingly she remembered the line. "Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much. Which mannerly devotion shows in this; For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss." She touched the palm of her hand to his.'

"Have not saint's lips and holy palmers too?" Encasing his arm around her waist pulling her closer to him.

"Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer." She said putting her arms around his neck.

"O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do they pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair."

"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake."

"Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take. Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged. "

"Then have my lips the sin that they have took."

"Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again." He gave her a kiss after his line, his heart beats so rapidly he thought it would burst right out of his chest. He felt fire all over, his blood singing in his veins. Helga pulls away but Arnold was so entranced, that he swoops in to capture her lips again.

His hands sliding into her soft hair to hold her still as he suckled on her lips. Pulling back slightly and allowing their lips to touch softly before finally pulling away completely. Licking his lips and trying to regain his breathing.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Helga smiled.

"Yeah." Arnold smiled back and took her hand, going inside the convenience store. "Our first kiss, wasn't it?"

"You bet. I had to con Rhonda, Sheena and Pheebs, and then actually tell Lila that I loved you just to get the role. Just because I wanted to kiss you."

"I knew something was up. It's a one in a million chance that the leading lady and all the understudies would drop out in less than a few days."

"But your dense little brain didn't quite process it. ...Was it that obvious?"

"Yep."

"Damn. I needed to work on my stealth."

XXXXXX

Arnold just thought they would go inside and get some soda and be right out before Gerald and Phoebe woke up but it didn't happen that way. Instead Helga wanted to get some snacks for everyone, Arnold shrugged and decided to get some for himself although he just wanted some pumpkin seeds. Now he had a bag of chips, a Mr. Nutty bar, his pumpkin seeds and some soda. Helga had been looking for some pop tarts, they were both walking the wrong way only because they were busy laughing and joking about things.

Passing a row of condoms, Helga got an evil idea and took a pack, holding it out for him to see. "We're so going to need these." A seductive but playfully devilish smirk came to her face.

Arnold looks at the box, his face turned completely red "HELGA!"

"What?" she said trying to act innocent.

Arnold clenched his jaw trying to calm his blush. Helga held onto her stomach laughing at his expression.

Looking at the shelf, he did her one better and took another pack of condoms, this time the extra large size. "In that case, we need to get the right size. This is my size."

Blinking, frozen in surprise, Helga then burst into laughter, doubling over and holding her stomach as she died with laughter, rousing the attention of a couple other customers in the store.

Arnold blushed and quickly threw the box into their mini cart, which had shocked Helga for a moment.

_...He's not serious, is he? ...Unless it's for future use? ...If we ever get that far? If he ever wants me like that? ...Oh dear God I think I'm going to faint!_

"Um Helga?"

"Yeah?"

"I just want to say that I'm um…well I know you weren't serious back there and I'm not one to pressure you into doing something you don't want to do. I want to take this slow but the reason why I am going to buy…um…this is because If we ever do then I'll be prepared but I'm not pressuring you or anything." He sighs nervously "you must think I'm some sex crazed jerk."

"Arnold Arnold... You really need to calm down. I know you're a gentleman and you want to wait because you respect girls, and frankly that's a lot more than what most guys would do." Helga said, patting his shoulder. "Come on, no reason we can't be prepared...for the future, when the time comes around, right?" She blushed a bit. "You know, whenever we want to...you know..." She slapped herself on the cheek to compose herself. "What I'm saying is, I agree with you, let's get some now so that we can be ready when the time comes."

"Um Helga?"

"Yeah?"

"You were about to say something before you slapped yourself, by the way that's a weird habit of yours." he teased grinning.

"Oh shut up!"

"No really what did you want to tell me, you can tell me anything you know."

"Um...well...nothing really, I was kinda referring to when we ever decided to...to... Take our relationship to the next level?" She gave a nervous, sheepish smile, making it sound like she was answering his question with another question.

"Tell me please? I want to know."

"N-Not much else to say Football Head, I mean uh, I already kinda told you that I did...you know, _desire_ you and all, and I know you're just taking precautions ahead of time so that when we're ready to...do that, we've got the protection, right over here...and...there's the cash! Come on let's go pay! Chop chop!" With that she grabbed their basket and walked in long strides toward the cash, blushing furiously.

"So…you really wouldn't mind if we…um…went all the way someday?"

"Hush! We'll talk after we pay!"

The cashier stared at the couple in mild confusion as she ringed up their items, placed them in a bag and bid them a good night, earning a thank you in return before they dashed out. The young cashier chuckled.

"Ah, teens."

XXX

Once outside, with no one around, Helga took a breath and said in a low voice to keep from sounding too loud, "_Yes,_ I told you before. I had to hold myself back that night you were drunk, remember? Because I wanted to do the right thing and not get into that unless you were completely consensual AND sober."

"I'm sorry I…what exactly did I do anyway? You never gave me details."

"Well, um..." Helga blushed more. "When we were leaving the concert, you were all over me and then you made out with me...I kissed you back, of course... And then we finally got on the shuttle bus, and you were cozying up to me. We finally make it back to the hotel, and you sniffed my neck, and kissed me there, and then you were...feeling me up, I tried to stop you so we could get in the room, but you wouldn't, and then finally we get into the room. Then we're on the bed, and you got on top of me and started kissing my neck, and I pushed you off me because I knew you were trying to have sex with me, you landed on the floor and hurt yourself, I felt bad so I went to make sure you were okay. Then you wanted me to be your sexy nurse, and I said 'Okay, what do I have to do?' and then you said 'Kiss me until I'm better', and so I did. I kissed you on the head and on the cheek, but then you grabbed me and I fell on top of you, and you started to make out with me again. ...And I made out right back. I tried telling myself to stop, but it was getting harder and harder to resist you. I wanted you...so badly, but I knew I couldn't do that to you. So we made out for a while, I managed to get up, and you fell asleep, and then I went into the bathroom, locked myself in and slept in the tub."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that"

"You know hairboy, I really thought you were doing it to get back at me for everything I did."

"It was that bad?"

"...No." Helga murmured, and looked away. "...It felt like a test, a test to prove that I could do the right thing and not give in to my selfish desires and end up hurting you. ...I didn't want that to happen unless we were really together. When you knew I would do that because we loved each other." Her gaze dropped to the ground. "I know I said and did a lot of things to torture you, but like I said, I would _never_ do that kind of thing out of spite and torture. ...I'm sorry if I ever gave you that impression. I only have myself to blame for hat."

"Nah, I always knew you'd do the right thing…eventually." he teases holding her and giving her another tender kiss. "Come on we have to hit the road now"

Relieved, she gave a smile and nodded. "Yeah. Let's go. I'll drive."

~End of chapter~


	13. Back home

Road Trip

Back home

**BrokenRose24 here, you may notice the style of this story has changed, due to the fact that Pyrex Shards ditched being a beta to this story (He has his own reasons as well as I do) I have decided to post the last remaining chapters to finally end this story which means the plot MIGHT NOT match the plot Pyrex Shards had posted. When he was a beta he would change the story around and add his own personal touches to the story. However since there hasn't been any updates and since people always demand an ending to this story, I have decided to give you guys the ending but sadly you will have to have it Un-beta'd and the way it was Originally. Due to some conflicts I no longer work with Nintendogal55 nor Pyrex Shards. I hope you all will understand.**

**At least I gave you an ending, too bad it isn't the perfect one but it is an ending none the less. Please Enjoy. **

Two days later they arrived at Hillwood, Gerald parked the car by his house. The African boy got out of the car streaching. "This was the good trip!"

"I concur Gerald, it was very refreshing seeing another country."

"I bet mom is going to be so excited about the movies and pictures."

"Yeah I bet!"

"I'm going to walk Phoebe home, sorry babe but after that long trip I need to walk."

"My legs have been hurting too so it sounds good to me."

"See ya man" they did their handshake while Phoebe gave Helga a hug.

"Call me later Helga."

"Yeah I will, Pheebs."

Arnold swung his bookbag over his shoulder "Is anyone home at your house?"

"Bob has left with Miriam to go see my aunt."

"Do you have the house keys?"

"Nope, lovely isn't it, it's cool though I'll just crash at Phoebe's house"

"Oh well do you want to come home with me?"

_And can I stay forever with you? _

"Um yeah sure, it's been a while since I seen your folks."

"Okay then let's go"

XXXXXX

"Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, I'm home!"

"Well hey there, short man! You're back!" Phil greeted as he came out from the living room. "And well well well, look who we have here! It's Helga!"

"Hey, Phil. How's tricks?"

"Arnold!" A very pregnant Stella emerged from the kitchen, and hugged her son tightly. "You're finally home! I missed you so much!"

"Hi mom, how have you been feeling?"

She raised her eyebrow "Well your father has been fussing about me staying still but you know how I am."

Arnold grabs Helga's hand pulling her closer "I guess the proper thing to say it is like this…Mom this is my girlfriend Helga."

"You dolt she already knew who I was!"

"Yeah but now your being referred as my girlfriend."

Phil gave a laugh, grinning widely. "Well short man, I told you so!"

"I knew you'd say that, Grandpa."

"Hey Miles, you owe me twenty bucks! I win!" Phil called into the kitchen.

"I should've known it wouldn't get past you, Dad." Miles came out of the kitchen and handed his father a twenty before turning his attention to the youngest generation. "Well hey! How was Canada?"

"It was great, Dad. We have a lot of pictures and video footage to show you, just like you wanted, Mom."

"Well let's go to the living room and tell us everything!"

"Is that Eleanor?" Gertie then came down the stairs, dressed up in a fancy gown right out of the 1800's, including a bonnet and umbrella. "Why, it is!"

"Hey, Gertie. Long time no see." Helga grinned, and was pulled into a hug by the older woman.

They all moved to the living room, sitting around on the couch and chairs, while Helga just simply stood behind the couch as they shared the photos.

"We'll here is the pictures mom." handing her the photos while talking to everyone about what they saw down in Canada.

"The waterfall was so amazing."

Stella stood silent for a bit before lifting up a photo of Helga and Arnold kissing under the waterfall.

"I wonder why." She smiled, giggling. Stella took another photo, this time it was one of the group at the waterfall again, probably before, all of them making silly faces at the camera, a self-shot taken by Gerald.

"Looks like you guys had a blast!" Miles remarked.

Blushing "Yeah, dad."

_Damn I forgot to take those pictures out!_

"I am going to blow this picture up and frame it on the wall" Stella declaired holding up the picture of Arnold and Helga kissing.

"What why?"

"Why not? It's so romantic besides I'll replace it later."

Arnold gave her a questioning look "Replace it?"

She nodded smiling "Of course, I'll replace it as soon as you both take a wedding photo."

"Wow mom, couldn't you settle for the Prom first?"

Stella gave a knowing smile in response, making both teens blush heavily.

"Was that you asking me to the prom?" Helga finally asked, teasingly.

Blushing at the slip of the tongue, Arnold stood up "I'm going to unpack my stuff so I'll be back down here in a bit, come on Helga." he said quickly swinging his bag on his shoulder and running upstairs.

All of the adults laughed heartily, while Helga blushed a bit and cracked a smile before telling the adults she too would return later and followed her beloved upstairs to his room.

XXX

Arnold felt his stomach churn, he was nervous at his slip up.

_Sure I would love to go to Prom with her but gosh, I never thought I'd pretty much admit in front of my family I wanted to. We've only been going on for a short amount of time._

Leaning against his door, Helga looked toward him and gave a sympathetic smile. "You okay? I guess what happened down there was kind embarrassing. Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable, I was just teasing. ...Not to say I don't want to go to Prom with you, because you don't even need to ask me. You know my answer."

"I know but I kinda wanted to ask in the most romantic settling without you knowing I'd ask you. Besides I really haven't gave it much thought. We're new to this whole dating and I wanted to be more proper about this. You know doing everything the right way."

"Arnold my love..." The blonde girl walked over to him and placed her hands on his cheeks. "I know what you're trying to do, and I can't even fathom how happy that makes me, that you would want to go to so much effort just for me. But it doesn't matter to me, because I have you. I've been in love with you since I was three years old. I hardly think I'm in any position to be picky about how we go about things. I just want you to know that you don't have to worry, either way we go about things, be it Prom or any other dance or whatever, what matters the most is that we're together. I love you, and well, you love me too. That's more than what I can ask for. Okay? Good."

"So do you think we should keep this whole thing a secret from the kids at school?"

"We're not telling our classmates yet. I still have a reputation to uphold...even if it's high school and I don't exactly rule our class with an iron fist. But let's take it slow and we'll see what happens before we come out with it."

"Okay then Helga, I understand."

"All right then. ...Oh, and Arnold?"

"Yes?"

"You have something on your lips."

Before he could ask what, she immediately kissed him lovingly, bringing her arms around his neck. Catching on to what she meant, Arnold chuckled inwardly and brought his arms around her, kissing her back. It then began to rain outside, pattering loudly on his skylight up above them.

They had gone on that eventful road trip, conflicted and practically hating each other, with a lot of confused feelings and realizations to come about. It had been a long road, and they came back, together and in love. Mutually.

Pulling away, they smiled at one each other, basking in each other for a few moments.

"Hey Helga?"

"Yes, my love?"

"What did you mean when you said you stalked me night and day, built shrines to me in a closet and filled volumes of books with poems about me?"

"...Uh...we better go back downstairs!" Helga tore away and ran out of his room, red in the face.

Laughing, Arnold followed after her, deciding to ask her about all of that later on.

_She's such a nutball...but gosh do I love her._


End file.
